Fresh Beginnings
by thatredheadgirl
Summary: Brooke and Nathan are going to the same college. Nathan is the hot shot basketball player and Brooke is the cute cheerleader, does it sound familiar? It's high school all over again, but this time things are a little different.
1. Welcome to College

Brooke Davis looked around the University of Illinois campus. There were people everywhere some returning and some just arriving. She smiled to herself as she thought of all the new friends she could make and all the hot guys. She was so excited to escape Tree Hill which included her former best friend and her ex boyfriend who were now madly in love.

Lucas was not a bad guy he actually had the decency to tell her that he wasn't in love with her but Peyton had just out lied to her trying to deny it. Then after graduation Brooke spent the summer in Hawaii with her cousins and for once was having fun and now she was starting college in a place where no one knew her. She looked down at the cheer uniform in her arms and smiled. She got a full ride for cheerleading something she was awesome at.

She followed the directions on her hand to her dorm excited to meet her roomy who was also a cheerleader and head down to practice to meet the team. When she reached her door she didn't know whether to knock or just walk in and after debating within herself she knocked and then opened the door. She saw a girl who reminded her of Hailey sitting at a desk in front of a computer.

"Hey roomy I'm Brooke." The girl turned around and smiled a big cheer smile matching Brooke's.

"Hi I'm Kayla."

"Its nice to meet you Kayla, how about we chat on the way to practice?" Brooke looked the brunette up and down noticing her bright green eyes and slender frame on the way to practice. Today was the day that the cheerleaders met the players for the season and Brooke was really excited to see her eye candy during the games.

Cheerleading was always the something that kept Brooke sane at times when Lucas was being all broody and 'don't talk to me' she would just go to the game and let the crowd cheer her up. She and Kayla walked into the gym arm in arm laughing like they were old friends.

They sat in the chairs with the rest of the cheerleaders as some of the team members filtered into the gym. Brooke scanned the team for possible hook-ups when Kayla poked her arm.

"What?"

"Look at that hottie!" She hissed in Brooke's ear as she followed Kayla's finger towards a certain tan brown haired boy who seemed familiar. "It can't be." Brooke thought to herself as she smiled. She stood and up and ignored Kayla's calling after her as she made her way towards her old friend.

"Jeez Scott, you can't even give a girl a hug!" Brooke exclaimed as Nathan turned around from the person he talked and looked at her smiling.

"Well Davis you would always give me a hug." She laughed and threw her arms around Nathan.

"I didn't know you went here."

"Yeah well you left right after graduation." Brooke looked down at the shiny wood floor.

"I wanted to give the new couple space and Hawaii seemed the right distance away."

"Yeah I went to Costa Rica, they were so disgusting."

"How's Hailey?" It was Nathan's turn to lock eyes on the floor.

"She um…well she took off with Chris after graduation right after the papers were signed. I thought she wanted us to get back together but I guess he is more her type."

"I'm sorry Nathan, I really am." Kayla cleared her throat behind Brooke grabbing both of their attentions.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friend and his equally hot friend?"

"Oh Nathan Scott this is Kayla Mason and this is…."

"I'm Jordan Howard."

"Nice to meet you."

"Cheerleaders! Attention front and center!"

"Hey Nathan I'll talk to you later, here's my dorm thing and my number. Call me some time so we can catch up." She shouted over her shoulder and ran towards the other cheerleaders.

"Dude who was that?" Nathan looked towards Jordan unsure of who he meant. "The chick that gave you a hug,"

"Oh that was Brooke Davis from back home. She's my brother ex-girlfriend."

"She seems cool."

"Yeah she's pretty cool." Nathan went towards the court with the rest of the players after stealing another glance at Brooke. She looked like she fit in with the cheerleaders and it was like freshman year of high school all over again. But this time they had someone to get through it all. Nathan looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and smiled. 'This is the time to get to know the real Brooke Davis and not the fake one from Tree Hill.' Nathan thought to himself as the coach rambled on.


	2. Hanging Out With Friends Old and New

Brooke sat at her desk in her dorm trying to right some stupid book for her English Class and it wasn't working. She couldn't concentrate not with her first game in almost 7 hours. She stood up and grabbed her duffel bad. She walked around aimlessly for awhile before ending up in front of Nathan's dorm. She pushed open the door and walked the short distance to Nathan's room. She could hear the boys playing basketball again as they often did when they were avoiding doing their homework. How they managed to keep their grades up was beyond her because even she was struggling. She knocked lightly on the door before barging in and setting her baby pick duffel bag next to Nathan's.

"Nathan I'm bored entertain me!" Brooke whined as Nathan threw the sock ball in the make-shift basket they had sent up the first day they were here.

"Gee Brooke come on in and make yourself at home."

"I was going to anyway thanks for offering."

"So Brooke what brings you to our messy room?" Jordan said throwing one of Nathan's dirty socks at him.

"I was bored all alone in my room and wanted some entertainment."

"Oh is our little Brooke nervous about her first televised game?" Jordan asked pinching her cheek.

"No I'm not nervous Jordan but pinch my cheek again and I'll sick Nate after you."

"I'm not fighting your battles for you; Jordan can probably beat me up." Nathan smirked and threw the sock ball towards the basket scoring as always.

"But Natey you love me." She pouted and Nathan just patted her shoulder on his way to retrieve his ball.

"Not gonna work Brooke." She crossed her arms and sat back on Nathan's bed. Someone knocked on the door and Jordan jumped up to get it. "Jeez Jor you don't even know who it is and you're excited to get it." Jordan slapped Nathan's shoulder and opened the door where a tall boy with dark hair stood with a smirk on his face. Nathan and Brooke turned towards the door. Brooke sat up in her seat and jumped into his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as Jordan stood off in the distance watching. He looked to Nathan and pointed at Brooke.

"I could ask you the same thing Brooke."

"Okay can I interrupt? How the hell do you guys know each other?"

"Hey Nathan."

"Hey Tim, what's up?"

"Oh nothing much just changing schools, I got bored at home."

"Oh Jordan these are my friends from back home in Tree Hill."

"Good now I have someone to party with when Nathan's playing basketball." Brooke exclaimed as she ushered Tim in.

"You know me too well Brooke but can I ask what you two are doing hanging out? I mean you two barely spoke to each other."

"She's my tie to the good times. Plus she's really funny when she tries to act smart."

"Yeah I hear your first game is tonight, nervous?" Nathan looked at his best friend and laughed.

"I never get nervous, but Brooke on the other hand."

"Shut up Scott, I don't get nervous." She protested resuming her spot on his bed that she had dubbed hers whenever she wanted. She even went as far as to kick him out it when Kayla had her flavor of the week over for some extracurricular activities. She laughed out loud causing the boys to eye her strangely.

"What's so funny?" Jordan asked jumping on the bed next to her.

"The night I kicked Nathan out of his bed because Kayla was having some guy over."

"Oh yeah that was funny, Tim you missed it. Brooke came over like 4 nights ago at like 1 in the morning and kicked Nathan out of his bed because her roommate Kayla was screwing some guy. Nathan was so pissed but him being the whipped man he is gave her his bed. Nathan was not a happy camper that day at practice.

"Dude she kicked me out of my bed because she can't put up with her friend getting more action then her." Nathan shot back looking at Brooke's shocked face.

"Yeah but at least I've dated since starting school besides you who turns down every girl that comes on to you." Tim turned towards Nathan with a shocked look on his face, 'This is not my best friend something's up.' Tim thought to himself.

"Nate you didn't turn gay on me did you?" Brooke and Jordan burst out laughing as Nathan tackled Tim to the ground punching him. "Okay Nate I surrender, I'm sorry."

"Damn straight you're sorry." Nathan sat back on his heels breathing heavily from punching Tim over and over. Brooke and Jordan were winding down from their fit of laughter and Jordan looked at Nathan. Nathan had expressed interest in Brooke after seeing her that first day on the court. It was weird because Nathan told him of how he barely talked to Brooke in high school but something about her now was different as Nathan often said whenever he talked about Brooke. Nathan caught Jordan's eye and knew exactly what he was thinking about his 'feelings' for Brooke considering he had no clue what they were.

It was going to be interesting to see how Nathan handled seeing Brooke in a cheerleading uniform since his new feelings arose. Jordan chuckled to himself as the group went out for food before the game.


	3. The First Celebration of Many

Thx everybody for reviewing! I'll update faster if you guys keep up the great job reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nathan looked around the crowded arena; the fans were dressed with orange and blue cheering basically going wild. It made him smile that all these people cared about basketball the one thing that Nathan loved. It wasn't like in high school where it was something for people to do the crowd was like a sport of its own. Nathan scanned the crowd and saw his mom and Uncle Keith, ever since Dan died in the fire almost a year ago Keith had become more involved in both Nathan and Lucas's lives. He looked at them and smiled before turning his attention to the screaming overly happy cheerleaders. One in particular caught his eye, Brooke. She was enjoying every minute of having everyone's eyes on her.

She caught his eye and winked, she turned her attention back to cheering while he ran onto the court. She watched as he ran around jumping and shooting the ball. Jordan and him seemed to be able to read each other minds. Nathan ran to get the ball that had rolled to Brooke's feet and he could actually take in what she was wearing, her skirt was a little shorter than her old one and Nathan had to resist the urge to stare. She bent forward putting on her cheer smile, "You like what you see?" She whispered in his ear.

"Actually I do."

"Good luck Nathan, I hope you score." She stood up straighter and shot him her original Brooke Davis smile that he knew all too well. He just winked at her and ran back to join the team doing drills.

In the last ten seconds of the game South Dakota State was leading by 5 and U of I had the ball, more so Jordan had the ball. He fired it into the basketball and scored a 2 pointer and Nathan took off running trying to steal the ball which he succeeded in doing right before number 17 took a shot and took off like a strike of lightning towards the basket firing a 3 pointer with no one around him. The ball went around and around the basket before going in as the final buzzer rang. The whole crowd went wild, Brooke and the rest of the cheerleaders rushed onto the court celebrating the first of many victories to come.

Nathan saw Brooke cheering with Jordan and Kayla and all he could think about was how bad he wanted to get her out of her uniform. He had figured out his feelings while sitting on the bench most of the first half which was cool with him, he just glad to play the last 10 minutes of the first half. He had grown to appreciate the time he was given to play after Whitey made him sit out for almost 2 games for swearing and screaming at him during a game.

After the team congratulated the other team they left for the locker room but Nathan hung back with Brooke. "Hey Nate hurry up and change so we can celebrate." She smiled and kissed his cheek running off towards the locker room. He ran off into the locker room and quickly and met up with Brooke outside. She hadn't changed out of her uniform and he was glad.

"How's dorm?" He asked grabbing her duffel bag for her, he didn't want her to feel cheap. He wanted her to feel as special as he thought she was.

"Mine, yours has Tim in it." Nathan chuckled a little and turned towards Brooke's dorm. The walk was filled with silence and some idle chatter because neither of them wanted to talk. Brooke looked at Nathan in the moon light and she had to admit that he was cute and somewhat scolded herself for not going after him before Peyton. She knew that she was jealous when Peyton caught all the good guys, the guys who wanted to be in a relationship while Brooke got all the guys who just wanted a hook-up. When they reached Brooke's dorm, Nathan pushed her against the wall and kissed her making her knees almost weak. She pushed back as she locked the door and Nathan hands were busy taking off her short skirt. She moaned as he left a trail of kissed down her neck. Brooke dug her nails into his shoulder as he pushed himself in her. She felt like she was high from the pleasure he was giving her. He pushed harder and harder making Brooke almost pass out from the feeling. Not only was he a hell of a kisser but he was amazing. He pushed one more final time and collapsed on top of her. Trying to catch their breath he pushed himself off of her and laid down on her small bed next to her.

"That was amazing." She gushed kissing him full on the lips. He smiled and kissed her again pushing his tongue into her mouth. "We still have to go back to your dorm."

"Why?"

"The party." He nodded as she got up and turned the light on. He just laid on her bed watching her get dressed. She turned around and blushed a little from his intense gaze. She didn't know why he was the only one who make her blush by looking at her like that but she had to admit it was nice to be the center of someone's attention. He stood up and pulled his clothes on. She turned the light off again and they left her dorm hand in hand. The cool fall air cooled them off after their celebration as Nathan called it. Brooke laid her head on Nathan's shoulder as they walked and Nathan put his arm around her shoulder. Both hoped for a repeat performance at some time or another and Brooke hoped it wasn't just a one night stand.

When they got to the party Jordan and Tim both watched as Nathan and Brooke walked in hand in hand and knew automatically that they had finally hooked up. They high fived each other and handed them a drink.

Hours later a very tired Brooke collapsed on Nathan's bed, she had denied drinking because she had practice tomorrow and early classes while Nathan just refused because he didn't feel that drinking was the right way to celebrate. He had already had his celebration. He looked up from his English assignment due tomorrow as Brooke laid across his bed looking like a fallen angel.

"You've got her to open up to you Nathan keep going." He said to himself as he put his headphones on and finished his homework feeling a sudden burst of energy. Maybe tomorrow he'll tell her how he feels.


	4. Reunion under horrible circumstances

Nathan woke up and looked around the room; something was missing well more like someone was missing. He shot up in bed and scanned the room noting that Brooke was gone. Sighing he pulled himself out of bed and towards the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for class.

30 minutes later Nathan reentered his bedroom and tried to wake Jordan up for class. He laughed as Jordan swatted his hand away and got out of bed muttering about killing Nathan later. He turned back to his make-shift closet and threw on basketball shorts and a t-shirt not really caring what he looked like. As he was grabbing his stuff for class someone knocked on the door.

"Hold on." He zipped his back-pack and opened the door. Brooke stood in front of him with tears flowing freely down her face. "Brooke what's wrong?"

"Its Keith." Nathan tensed and fell back onto the bed behind him. "Nathan there was an accident last night, you're mom's fine but Keith's in a coma." He was shocked, he just seen them last night.

"W-where are they?"

"Tree Hill."

"How?"

"They flew home right after the game and they were on their way home from the airport when they were hit by a drunk driver." He stood up and started throwing clothes in a bag. "Your mom took care of stuff with the school, I'll see you when you come back." He turned towards her a mixture of confusion and hurt in his eyes, it felt like he was losing his father and someone who meant so much to him in one day.

"You have to come with me, you can't make me do this myself." She nodded and they left running into Jordan on the way out.

"Where are you going?"

"Family emergency, we'll be back soon." Jordan nodded and they ran outside to catch the cab that was waiting for them.

When they arrived in Tree Hill Nathan couldn't help but grab Brooke's hand and hold on. She pulled him to her and they tightly embraced as Nathan finally broke down. The ride to the hospital was filled with Brooke's reassuring words that Keith was going to be okay.

Deb met them outside the hospital and Nathan held her as silent sobs racked through her body. "Come on mom let's go inside." Nathan said calmly his voice cracking just a little. Brooke knew that it was bad when Nathan started to lose it and was determined to be there for him. Deb and Karen sat next to his bed and Nathan held on to Brooke, it was natural to both of them.

After they were in the room for an hour or so Luke and Peyton arrived. Brooke's breath caught in her throat when she saw him but Nathan squeezed her shoulder before him and Luke shared a short hug.

"Hey Brooke."

"Lucas, Peyton." She replied coldly standing up next to Nathan.

"How's school?" Nathan in spite of everything that was happening smiled and looked at Brooke who gave a small but genuine smile.

"Why don't you kids go get something to eat, I don't think Nathan and Brooke have eaten." They nodded and left the room heading down to the cafeteria.

"School's great," Nathan started breaking the awkward but intense silence. "Tim's there which makes it fun and I have a girlfriend." He shot Brooke a look which made her smile. That was his way of kinda rubbing it in Luke's face that Brooke still wasn't hung up on him. "Oh yeah and I scored the winning basket last night."

"That's great Nate."

"So what have you two been up to?" Brooke asked feeling better after Nathan's little confession.

"Just the usual; school, work, basketball." Brooke wanted to smack them for not realizing what Nathan meant by he had a girlfriend.

"So Brooke what are you doing here?" Peyton asked causing both Nathan and Brooke to laugh. 'They really are perfect for each other.' Nathan thought as he motioned for Brooke to answer but she just shook her head wanting to hear Nathan say what he wanted to say.

"She's my girlfriend." To say that Luke and Peyton were shocked was an understatement, Luke for a minute looked furious but recovered quickly and Peyton well she looked smug for some insane reason and Nathan wondered why he ever dated her, 'She was great in bed.' His inner voice said making him choke on his water.

"So how long?" Peyton asked her bitchiness shining through full watt.

"Since we hooked up last night." Brooke replied her bitchiness totally winning out over Peyton's and Nathan was somewhat proud.

"So Nathan how's Hailey?" Peyton turned to him her bitch smile glued to her face.

"Don't know and really don't care, why don't you ask Luke I mean he's the one who slept with her last." Brooke's eyes bulged out of her head and she starred from Nathan to Luke.

"What the hell?" Brooke and Peyton asked at the same time going back and forth between Nathan and Luke.

"I don't know what you're talking about Nate." Luke's eyes were glued to the table and his voice seemed to have lost all emotion.

"I think you do; you couldn't stand to see me and her happy together so you decided to go ahead and seduce her to sleeping with you. Then you and her decided to hide it from me and kept doing it for months. Well I found out and I hate to admit it but Brooke I'm the one who sent you that note telling you about Luke." His once angry eyes softened to a little ashamed and Brooke squeezed his thigh under the table. Luke stood up storming off to who knows where. Peyton rushed after him leaving Nathan and Brooke alone.

"Thank you." Nathan's head shot up and he just stared at her. "Thank you for telling me about it so I could get out before I got really hurt. You shouldn't feel bad about what you did because you did the right thing." She stood up and Nathan enveloped her into a hug. "Oh by the way nice way of making him squirm." Nathan just smiled and kissed her sweetly.

"It was no problem I also enjoyed it." His smile faded as reality set in.

"Hey don't worry about Keith, okay?" His head fell into his hands as they sat there in the cafeteria. "Its okay just let it out." She pulled him into a hug and she sat there as Nathan silently cried. It broke her heart to see him in this much pain and knowing that there was nothing she could do to make everything okay. "I'm here for you no matter what." Nathan just held her tightly as silent sobs racked through his body.

"I can't lose him." He muttered as she gently tried to soothe him.

"I know." No one knew but when Dan died Nathan was actually upset. Now he wasn't as upset as he was now and Brooke knew because she was there for Nathan while Hailey was on tour. No one knew of the past that they actually shared….it was too deep to try and explain.


	5. A Look to the Past

"Do you remember the night we spent in my dad's beach house?" Nathan asked finally turning away from the window he had been staring out of for the past 2 hours. Brooke looked up from her book and nodded as Nathan put his head on her shoulder.

Flashback

Nathan sat on the beach crying over his son of a bitch father who had died less than 3 hours ago in a fire down at his 'home'. Nathan didn't know why he was crying over the bastard who made both his and his mother's lives hell. He never made Nathan feel good enough and he cared more about Nathan being better than Luke then the game that Nathan loved. He always had to strive to do better than Dan, be the best in all of Tree Hill and be the captain of the team that everybody loved.

But for some reason Nathan had lost the driving force behind him when Dan died. He hated to admit it but his dad made him the player he was, he was always pushing him to do one more rep or run more mile never letting Nathan settle and now he was alone.

Sure he still had his mother, Keith, and Luke but still they weren't as pushy and demanding as Dan. Dan was the nightmare that pissed Nathan off enough to be so rough in games. It made people fear him and Dan had admitted that he was proud of Nathan after they won the championship.

But now Nathan the strong, never show your emotions guy was sitting on the beach blubbering like a girl. The waves came in and out and it was calmly for him. He looked up when someone blocked the perfect moonlight shining down on the water. His eyes grazed over the frame and knew right away that it was Brooke Davis the girl with many secrets.

"Nathan are you okay?" He wiped his eyes and looked up at Brooke.

"Yeah I'm fine what are you doing out here anyway?" She shifted slightly and turned to walk away. "Wait don't go! I could really use company." He sniffed this time not caring because it looked like Brooke needed a friend to lean on too.

"How are you doing?"

"This may surprise you but shitty." She just shook her head and looked at Nathan.

"Not really. I mean you have to care somewhat for your parents."

"So can I ask why you're crying?"

"Typical family stuff." He looked her up and down deciding if he should press the issue or not. Brooke sat down next to Nathan wincing a little at the pain in her side and her hand instantly flew to the spot to make it stop.

"Brooke what's wrong?" Nathan asked his voice rough and concerned.

"Nothing Nathan don't worry about it." She warned holding her side looking like she wanted to scream in pain. Nathan sniffed once more and pulled the hem of her shirt up. He gasped at the sight of Brooke's side.

"Brooke what happened?" He moved his hand to explore how bad she was actually was, the bruises trailed all the way up to her bra and across her side. He felt bad because here he was feeling sorry for himself when she was worse off then he was himself.

"I don't want to talk about it." He gently yet rough grabbed her shoulders forcing her to face him.

"Tell me what happened." He demanded his voice rough and soft.

"My step-mom was drunk and took all her anger and frustration for my father out on me. Then daddy dearest walked in totally pissed and pushed her away from me and told me to find somewhere to stay for the night. I can't go to Peyton's, Hailey's, or Luke's so I ended up here."

"Were you going to spend the night out here like actually sleep out here?"

"After nights like these sleep doesn't come too easily."

"You should go to the hospital."

"No, Nathan stop worrying about me. I'm fine and I can handle it myself." She stood back up and started walking away from Nathan. He shot up and went after her catching her as her shoe broke underneath her.

"Come on." He picked her up and he started walking back up the beach. She hesitantly followed not knowing what Nathan was doing. Nathan walked until he reached the beach house and he took a deep breath and walked in. It reminded him of Dan so much that he hit him full force upon walking through the door, Brooke stepped back to give Nathan some space and also looking for a quick exit. He turned around catching her off-guard and she fell into the wall and his face immediately softened and he gently touched her arm. He tugged at her arm and walked into the living room. "Sit here." She sat down afraid that he was going to tackle her so she would stay. Nathan disappeared and Brooke thought to herself, 'Maybe he's going to actually take care of me or maybe he's just having a caring moment. It means nothing.' She sighed out loud instantly clamping her hand over her mouth hoping Nathan didn't hear it. 'Or maybe he does care and I should want to comfort him his father just died.'

Nathan came back in with a whole tray of stuff and he sat across from Brooke on the coffee table. His face was stained from the tears still somewhat running down his face, he looked beyond tired like if he closed his eyes for too long he would be out. His eyes were blood-shot and Brooke knew that from experience that sleeping was going to hurt because his eyes needed moisture.

"Here take this." She took the aspirin from his hand and threw them in her mouth along with a swig of water. "Take your shirt off." Brooke eyed him curiously before she peeled her shirt over her head.

"Ya know Nathan there are easier ways to get me unclothed." She laughed a little trying to lighten the mood. Nathan in spite of himself smiled.

"Hey I think playing Doctor." Brooke wanted to laugh but the pain in her sides hurt too much. He wrapped ice around her waist and put band-aids on the cuts on her upper arms.

"I look like a great ad for the band-aid company." Brooke whined inching at one of the band-aids.

"Here put these on." He handed her a baggy t-shirt and sweats so her tight clothes wouldn't mess up her band-aids.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked sitting next to Nathan who was starring off into space.

"He was the one always pushing me, always making me feel like shit. He was always telling me that I was better than everybody and that doing normal teenager stuff would screw up my chances at a scholarship. He always made me strive to beat him. Working out he would say, 'its sad that your old man can do more reps than you; that I can run more than you can.' He was always getting me to beat him in everything we did. Now that he's gone who's gonna push me?" He absentmindedly wiped at the tears running down his face. Brooke put her arms around him and he leaned his head on her shoulder. He fell asleep with her gently rocking her back and forth.

End of Flashback

"That was the first night of many that we spent in that beach house. I never thanked you for that night; you made me feel like it wasn't my fault that she hit me." Nathan just looked up at her the tears freely falling down her face and he smiled.

"Who knew that we actually have feelings?" Brooke tried not to laugh but failed miserably and gave in laughing along with Nathan. "It's nice to see the genuine Brooke Davis smile."

"It's nice to have nice Nathan around and not jackass Nathan." He laughed sarcastically as she kissed his cheek going back to the book in front of her.

"I hope Keith's okay." He added softly not knowing that Brooke was silently praying he was.


	6. 2 Surprises in One Day

Nathan woke up feeling like a ton of bricks hit him repeatedly in the head. Pushing himself off the bed he slowly made his way down to the kitchen. On his way down he looked at the pictures covering the wall and it was ironic how in print they looked like a loving family but in reality there wasn't any love in the family.

Finally moving past all the pictures he padded into the kitchen searching for some aspirin and food. He turned towards the isle in the middle of the kitchen and nearly dropped the bottle of aspirin and box of cereal when he saw Hailey sitting there sipping some water.

"W-what are you doing here?" He took a deep breath trying to calm the anger rising in him at the moment.

"Your mom let in on her way out. How are you?" She casually asked putting her glass in the sink.

"I'm fine besides the current situation." She faked a smile something that Nathan hated about her.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened."

"There's nothing to talk about." He stated walking over to the fridge grabbing some milk.

"Yes there is Nathan, what I did to you was horrible. You didn't deserve what I did to you and I hope you still aren't hung up on the past." He choked on his cereal resisting the urge to laugh in her face. 'If you only knew.' He thought as he saw Brooke entered the house. He motioned for her to be quiet while Hailey was playing with one of her nails. She nodded and went off into the living room in view of Nathan.

"You're right Hailey, I shouldn't be hung up on the past anymore. I mean you're with Chris now so I hope that you're happy with him." She looked up in surprise.

"Really Nathan?" She smiled this time a mixture of a forced smile and genuine.

"Yeah Hailey we both knew that it wasn't going to work between us because we married so young and all that jazz. I think I'm ready to move on." Nathan nodded his head and Brooke strolled in kissing Nathan on the cheek before stealing his cereal.

"Brooke what are you doing here!" Hailey exclaimed her whole face lighting up.

"Hailey! How are you?" She asked the fakeness dripping from her voice.

"I'm good and you? Are you having fun with the college hunks?"

"I'm fantastic and I'm having fun with one college hunk." She smiled at Nathan.

"Wait you and Nathan are dating?" Nathan just nodded his head his smile growing wider. "Who would've thought!" She exclaimed hugging Brooke again. "Oh I just wanted to invite you guys to the show tonight at Tric."

"We'll try and come." Brooke replied squeezing Nathan's arm. She smiled again and left with her cell phone glued to her ear. "Well she's changed."

"Yeah now that she's with Chris."

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"My head hurts and I don't think I feel good."

"How about we just hang out around here today? I mean I don't need you getting sick on me." He nodded and followed her into the living room. She sat down and Nathan laid down with his head on her lap. They watched TV for awhile until Nathan's cell started blaring next to his head. He groaned and picked it up, "Hello?"

"Nathan man I have to talk to you." Luke pleaded almost sounding like he was crying. Nathan shot up from his position on the couch and waved off Brooke's worried face.

"Uh sure what's up?" He walked into the kitchen so Brooke wouldn't hear.

"Can you meet me at the River Court?"

"Sure." He hung up and poked his head in the living room. "Hey Luke needs to talk so I'm gonna go talk to him, okay?" She nodded and he threw some shoes on. 10 minutes later he pulled into the River Court and saw Luke throwing the ball around. "What's up Luke?"

"Did you talk to Hailey this morning?" Nathan nodded and Luke's face drained of all color. "What did she say to you?"

"The normal 'I hope you've moved on speech.' What's up with you?"

"Hailey's pregnant."

"So?"  
"Its not Chris's." Nathan's jaw dropped and he looked at his brother straight in the eye.


	7. Lying Brings Out the Worst in People

Nathan fell back onto the picnic table and looked at Luke waiting for him to continue. Luke took a deep breath and put the ball down on the ground. "She thinks it's either mine or yours." Nathan's anger rose at her even though she wasn't there.

"It can't be mine we haven't had sex since before she left the first time." Luke nodded fearing that Nathan would say that and Nathan instantly felt bad. "Dude maybe it is Chris's and she's just lying because he probably broke up with her."

"Well according to her they haven't had sex."

"Bull shit!" He cried falling back against the edge of the picnic table. "She told me that they hooked up right before they left town. She's lying to you to get sympathy. I'm sorry dude I know she's your best friend and all but I think she's lying." Luke nodded and both stood up and walked away from the River Court silent; Luke was praying that Nathan was right and Nathan well Nathan was just pissed off that Hailey caused so much in a mere hour. "Look dude I know that you're freaking out right now but don't. Just let things run there course."

"I'm worried about Peyton."

"Don't, she knows all about you and Hailey she knew all before I did. The other day she just didn't want you mad at her for not telling you that's why she acted like she didn't know. She'll understand."

"I hope so, I'll catch you later Nate." They pounded fists and Nathan went right and Luke swung a left. Nathan just had to tell Brooke about Hailey and just picturing her face made him worried and amused at the same time. He was sure that the baby wasn't his because even when they got back together he made sure they never had sex because he thought of all the times the Hailey and Chris could've or had sex while miles away from him and made him sick. When Nathan reached Brooke's house he saw an unfamiliar car and instantly thought she was with someone else since he hadn't really told her how he felt or made them official he just told people they were. Sighing and walking up to the door he softly knocked.

"Hey Nathan come on in." Brooke sweetly greeted letting out the breath she was holding. She pulled in close for a hug, "Thank god you finally came I don't want to be around them for much longer." He pulled away and looked at her puzzled as to what she meant by her comment. She pulled him into the family room and the sight he saw in front of him was more than shocking. Chris Keller and Hailey sat holding hands and cuddling on the couch unaware of the audience they had.

"Ahem." Their heads shot up and Hailey lost the smile on her face. Nathan just glared at her knowing full well that she was lying by the way she and Chris were together, if Nathan found out his girlfriend was pregnant by another guy he would be pissed.

"Nathan! It's great to see you." Hailey threw her arms around him and he just pulled away. Brooke looked at Nathan worried that something was wrong.

"I need something to drink, you guys want anything?"

"Water." Hailey piped up and Chris nodded his head.

"Hey Nathan come help me." He nodded and followed her into the kitchen. "What's with the death glare?"

"She told Lucas she's pregnant and its not Chris's." His anger flared in his voice. "I mean you don't get pregnant by a guy who's not your boyfriend yet be all over your boyfriend. That's just not right and it may end a relationship."

"What?"

"Peyton could dump Luke after she finds out about Hailey's confession." Brooke just stared at Nathan not knowing what to say to what he had just told her.

"That conniving little bitch." Brooke muttered grabbing her car keys and heading out. She had to find Peyton before something happened. She left Nathan alone in the house with the gruesome twosome as she went off to fix Hailey's damage. Brooke parked the car in front of Peyton's house and ran inside.

She found Peyton huddled in the middle of the bed crying which even after everything they've been through still broke her heart. "Peyton what's wrong?"

"Lucas got Hailey pregnant."

"Peyton you actually believe that? I mean she's lying she has to be, Chris wouldn't be all over her if it wasn't true. You love Lucas and he loves you don't throw what you have away over some stupid little Hailey stunt." Brooke gently rubbed her arm hoping to make things better. Moments later Peyton looked up at Brooke her eyes still watery slightly and she actually smiled.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about us, you were right when you said that I was scared. I didn't want him to suddenly change his mind and want to be with you. You had every right to be mad at me and to know for that matter."

"I'm over that, now all I want to do is get Hailey out of our lives." Peyton nodded and Brooke pulled her up and out of the house. She drove the short way to Luke's and grabbed him on the way. The drive was dead silent and Brooke was uncomfortably pissed at Hailey. Usually Luke would at least hug Peyton but now he barely acknowledged her and Brooke saw how much it hurt Peyton. When they got to her house she rushed inside because the yelling was so loud that you heard it pulling into the drive. She walked in and saw Nathan and Chris furiously starring at each other like they were going to punch each other any second.

"Don't speak to her like that you bastard!"  
"I'm sorry that your girlfriend is a lying bitch trying to ruin her best friends lives!" Luke stood shocked in the doorway and he locked eyes with Hailey and her eyes fluttered to the ground.

"Guys! Knock it off! You sit there," She pointed at Chris and motioned for him to sit in the arm chair next to Hailey. "And you," Nathan's head shot towards her, "there." He nodded his head and sat down. "Now Hailey I just want to say one thing to you." Hailey took her attention off of her shoe and looked at Brooke the shame evident in her eyes. "I don't know who you think you are coming waltzing back into our lives and turning them upside down. I mean Luke's your best friend and he's happy with Peyton and you just had to tell you him he might have gotten you pregnant. Why would you do that and then you couldn't even tell Nathan that it might be is, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Its not mine that's for damn sure!"

"Shut it Nathan." Brooke snapped and he was shocked, his and Luke's jaws were hanging open and Peyton just smiled a little at her friend. "I know that you left to with Chris but I don't think that if you were pregnant by another guy who would take care of the baby with you that Chris would be all over you. So that proves at least to me that you're lying because you couldn't tell Chris." Chris starred wide eyed from Hailey to Brooke and back between the two. Luke and Nathan locked eyes suddenly bursting out laughing. Brooke looked at them with a questioning look before Peyton joined in. "What's so funny?"

"Chris doesn't know." Brooke looked at Chris and smiled a little.

"Well Chris you might be a father. And Hailey I think you just leave us alone. We don't need you trying to ruin our lives because you're not happy with ours." She turned on her heel and went into the kitchen. She felt bad for snapping at Nathan but no matter what happens or happened in the past best friends always come first. She looked out the window over the sink watching the little kids play in the back yard across from her house and she smiled.

"Hey." She turned and stood face to face with Nathan.

"Sorry for snapping at you but Peyton is hurting because of Hailey and I couldn't let her get away with it."

"Its okay, she left crying and Chris was running after her."

"What happened while I was gone?" Nathan looked down at the counter playing with a napkin.

"I called her out on her lie, told her that she was a convening whore for trying to ruin my best friends lives, he got pissed that I was talking shit about her, and then I told him that he was a hack of a star that didn't even have a hit."

"Nathan! You can't say that without me being there." His head shot up and he starred at her. "This was nice to have a break from everything else that's going on." Nathan sadly nodded and she walked over to him pulling him into a hug which he immediately returned.

"I want to go see Keith today." Brooke nodded and kissed his temple. They stood up and Nathan wrapped his arms tightly around Brooke. "Thank you so much for being there." She nodded and she grabbed his hand. It was going to be rough for awhile with Keith in the hospital and Hailey hanging around but Brooke was confident that they could and would make it through it all.


	8. The Real Nathan

Nathan stood frozen in the doorway of Keith's room. He couldn't bring himself to walk in and sit next to him, it was too painful. Brooke kept her distance knowing that Nathan had to do this for himself, even though they weren't technically dating she still felt proud of her 'boyfriend' for doing this. She decided that Nathan needed some help so she gently pushed him, "You can do, I'll be right here." He slowly nodded and entered the room taking almost one step a minute.

He slowly sank into the chair next to Keith's bed and grabbed the limp hand lying in front of him. He couldn't hold the tears back anymore and just let the tears flow freely down his face. "Keith come on you can't leave me now. I need you to be there for me like my father would be. You're like the father I never had and if it wasn't for you Lucas and I wouldn't be talking to each right now, everyone needs you. You just can't let go and leave me, I couldn't handle it you saw how much of a mess I was when Dan died you can't do that to me." He took a deep breath and put his head down on the bed sobbing quietly. Brooke no longer able to see Nathan in so much pain rushed in and wrapped her arms around Nathan cradling him softly.

He pulled away from Brooke wiping at the last tears streaming down his face. He knew that he had to do this now before he lost his nerve and never do it. He looked up at Brooke and grabbed her hands. "I know that since we hooked up the night after the game that I told people that you were my girlfriend without really telling you how I felt. I like you a lot Brooke, more than I think I've liked anyone. I just didn't want you to think that I didn't care about you and was just telling people that you were my girlfriend because I felt like it. No one knows me as well as you do." Brooke cupped his face with her hands and pulled his face closer.

"I never thought that you were just saying I was your girlfriend for whatever reason someone would do that. And I only know you because you opened up to me that night on the beach when I needed someone to get my mind of my miserable life. I care about you Nathan and I want you to know that I'm here for you no matter what we are to each other. You're my best friend before my boyfriend." He smiled and kissed her. They pulled away and saw Deb and Karen standing in the doorway smiling at the two teenagers.

"Nathan I think you guys should head back to school, I know you don't want to leave Keith but Thanksgiving is coming up in 2 weeks so you can come home then." She put her hand on Nathan's shoulder watching him think about her offer.

"You're mom's right Nathan; we'll be back in 2 weeks. Everything will be fine."

"Okay, but you promise to call me if anything changes?"

"Of course sweetie." Nathan kissed his mother and Karen on the cheek before they left to head back to school. After getting their things they headed to the airport and boarding the plane back to school. When they got back to school Jordan was more than excited to have his other roomy back and he noticed something different about them.

"What happened?" Tim asked concerned as they walked into his room.

"Keith's still in a coma, Haley announced that me, Luke, or Chris got her pregnant, and oh yeah I finally asked Brooke out."

"Dude Haley really did that?"

"Yep."

"I never liked her." Nathan smiled a little at Tim before falling back onto his bed.

"Hey Nate I'm gonna go back to my dorm for awhile, you gonna be okay?" Nathan nodded and kissed her before she left him to be interrogated by his roommates.

"How are you holding up Nate?" Jordan asked knowing how hard it was to lose family members so close together.

"Its hard Jor, he was like my father after Dan died last year. He made me and Luke finally start acting civil to each other and now what happens if he doesn't make it?"

"Dude if you start thinking about that you're gonna be a mess. Just think positive and everything will work out, you just have to think positive." Nathan nodded and looked up at the ceiling feeling a little better to have someone else to confide in other than Brooke who he felt bad for having to put all his problems on her when he knew that she had problems of her own. He just wanted her to want to be with him not feel that she _had_ to be with him.


	9. Nathan's Meaner Side

Brooke noticed over the week after they came back from Tree Hill that Nathan was just existing he pulled away from everyone usually keeping to himself. He was starting to worry Brooke. It was like he didn't want anybody around him which in a way hurt her. She understood that he was dealing with everything that was going on but he still shouldn't be shutting everyone. It seemed that they were fighting over the dumbest things when he would actually spend time with her.

As Brooke made her way to Nathan's room to talk to him she thought that maybe he was rethinking them being together. She didn't know if she could handle it not after everything that happened between her and Luke. Brooke passed Jordan and Tim on their way out.

"Hey Brooke, I wouldn't go in there." Brooke stopped and turned towards Jordan.

"Why what's wrong with Nathan?"

"He's on the rampage." Brooke shook her head and broke into a run towards Nathan's room. She could hear Nathan throwing stuff and almost turned around to head back to her room but the noise stopped. She slowly opened the door and Nathan looked up from his spot in the middle of the room.

"Go away Brooke, I just want to be left alone." Brooke stood shocked at his tone. She was done playing nice with him.

"What the hell Nathan? What did I do to you? If anything I've been there for you through all your mood swings. Hell I even let you scream at me and you tell me to go away? Fine I'll go away and trust me I won't come back!" She screamed at him the tears falling down her face. She slammed the door and took off running towards her dorm again. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she ignored it. She couldn't believe how stupid she was for even thinking he cared at all. She actually bought everything he said to her in the hospital before they came back.

As Brooke sat on her bed crying Kayla and Jordan stood in the doorway watching Kayla's heartbreaking for her friend Jordan's anger rising at Nathan's stupidity. Jordan looked down at the tears in his girlfriend's eyes and kissed her cheek. He went off in search of Nathan; they were going to discuss his behavior whether he liked it or not. Jordan had started to think of Brooke as one of his friends, probably best friend, and no one treated one of his friends like that not even his roommate.

Jordan slammed the door shut scaring Nathan as he picked up the mess from earlier. Nathan turned towards Jordan the blank expression still fixated on his face. "Hey Nate we have to talk."

"Not now Jordan."

"No now!" Jordan yelled yet again scarring Nathan.

"What!"

"I know you're hurting 'cause of everything at home and all but you don't have to be an ass to your GIRLFRIEND." Jordan said stressing girlfriend. "I mean dude you took this whole brooding thing to a new level. She's in tears and you're just sitting here like you don't care."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you have short term memory loss or something? I mean do you not remember what happened with Brooke only 3 hours ago?"

"Yeah I remember."

"And yet you're not doing anything about it, you really are an asshole." Jordan kicked the desk out of frustration.

"Why don't you step in my shoes for a fucking minute? I mean you have a brother you called you today saying that I wasn't good enough to be with Brooke that I would just treat her like shit. Then my mom called saying that if Keith didn't wake up they would pull the plug. I mean dude I can't fucking win for trying. I know that I fucked up with her but what do you want me to do?" Nathan screamed falling down to the ground beneath him.

"Talk to her, say your sorry, whatever it takes don't just sit here and feel sorry for yourself. She needs you more than you think she does so go." Jordan pulled Nathan up and pushed him towards the door. Nathan paused his hand on the doorknob when his phone rang on his bed. Jordan sighed and left going to back to Brooke while Nathan answered the phone. He would just have to tell Brooke what Nathan had told her. When Jordan got back to Brooke and Kayla's room Brooke was all alone.

"Hey Brooke feeling better?" She merely shook her head her grip tightening on the pillow that she was holding. "Well um…I guess that I should just get to the point and Nathan would be doing this but his mom called so I'm going to tell you what he told me. I know that he should be doing this but trust me he'll get his head out of his ass. But um…Nathan got a call from his brother today."

"So? Really Jordan what does this have to do with him snapping at me today?"

"Well like I said his brother called and well said that Nathan wasn't good enough to be with you and that he would just treat you like shit. And I'm thinking that it hit him pretty hard with his mom telling Nathan that they might pull the plug on Keith, so I'm thinking you should put on your cheerleader smile, waltz in there and stand your ground. Tell him that you're not going anywhere no matter what he does to push you away because we both know that's what he's doing." Brooke shrugged and hugged her pillow tighter.

Jordan pulled the pillow out of her grasp with more resistance from Brooke and gave her a hug. Brooke responded and Jordan just held her like an older brother would do to his little sister after she got her heart broken. He felt that he should watch out for Brooke so she was happy because in the short time he knew her she truly did make boring things like homework fun. She was the one to bring everyone out of their crappy moods. He slowly stood up still holding onto Brooke and he gently led her to the door. As Jordan opened the door Nathan stood in the doorway looking at the floor rubbing his neck. Jordan just smiled and squeezed past leaving Brooke and Nathan standing awkwardly.

"What do you want?" Brooke asked her old bitchy self making its return.

"I came to apologize for earlier, I shouldn't have acted like that and I'm sorry."

"Oh so you think you can treat me like crap say you're sorry and I'll forgive you?"

"No but I thought that you would at least hear me out."

"Well sorry you had your opportunity; go find some other dumb girl to treat like crap." She went to slam the door but Nathan stuck his hand out blocking her. She sighed in frustration and made her way back to her bed. Nathan slowly made his way over to her bed.

"I know that earlier I was an asshole to you and I have no excuse for that. You don't deserve to be treated like that and maybe Luke was right I don't deserve you. So I guess I'll respect what you want and leave." Nathan sighed and stood up. He stopped at the door and looked at Brooke. He shook his head as he made his way out of her building Brooke ran after him.

"Nathan!" She called but he kept walking. She sighed before jogging out into the rain that had started to fall. She caught up with Nathan and grabbed his arm. The look on his face truly broke her heart more than any fight they had. "Luke was wrong." She put her arms around her neck and pulled him closer to her. He smiled for the first time in a week which made her smile.

"I'm really sorry, I should've talked to you about it instead of snapping at you. I need you and I just thought I was forcing you to be with me."

"Next time talk to me." She kissed him hard and he picked her up off the ground holding her close as they made up in the rain. Brooke pulled away and smiled at Nathan as he held her. Who was Luke to say who was good enough for her? He broke up with her for her best friend. She was going to deal with Luke tomorrow right now she was with her boyfriend. Nathan pulled away and looked at Brooke.

"I'm really really really really sorry. I still feel really bad about being an ass earlier."

"I know but ya know I could've been a little nicer considering what's going on."

"I still shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you."

"I guess you're forgiven for now. Next time you might be as lucky."

"There won't be a next time." She smiled and kissed Nathan as he carried her back to his room. He had a whole week of horrible behavior to make up for and he planned on making it up to her.


	10. Brooke Confronts Lucas

Brooke woke up in Nathan's arms the next morning with Nathan's around her waist and she felt like nothing else compared to the feeling of being with him. She hated the fact that Luke called the fight between them yesterday and she was going to give him a piece of her mind. She didn't think that it was his place to say who was good enough for her or wasn't good enough. "Nathan hun its time to get up you have practice." She whispered gently stroking his cheek. He shook his head and pulled her tighter towards him. "Come on get up and go to practice so we can hang out afterwards." He sighed and threw the covers off of him.

"Alright I'll go." He mumbled as he stumbled towards the bathroom down the hall. Brooke turned in the opposite direction back towards her room and dialed Luke's cell.

"Hello?"

"How dare you!" She quietly exclaimed not wanting the people around her to hear.

"I was only trying to help you out Brooke."

"You don't get to decide whose good enough for me and who isn't. Also you have no room to talk you broke my heart for my BEST friend!"

"Stop yelling."

"Don't tell me what to do Lucas. I don't know who you think you are but if you think that you're going to come between me and Nathan you're sadly mistaken."

"Brooke listen to me I didn't really mean that he wasn't good enough for you."

"Oh so you actually meant that I'm not good enough for him!" Brooke was furious now and didn't care who heard. Jordan was leaving Kayla's room when he heard Brooke screaming and he had a feeling it was the brother.

"No that's not what I meant."

"Yeah uh huh and I'm the fucking Queen of England. You just aren't satisfied with what you have are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You weren't satisfied with me giving you my whole heart so you had get Peyton to fall in love with you and then you got bored with her and had to screw up your BROTHER'S MARRIAGE." Jordan just watched with amusement at Brooke's facial expressions. He spotted Nathan with a smile on his face in the background.

"I didn't mean to sleep with Haley it was total accident and you of all people should know about accidents." She pulled the phone away from her ear and starred at it flabbergasted.

"Yeah Luke I know all about accidents Lucas but at least I had the guts to admit when I screwed up unlike you; you blamed everyone under the sun for yours before you blame yourself." She smirked to herself and looked up finally noticing Jordan's shocked face. She followed his gaze and her eyes landed on Nathan who had Brooke's bag in his hands his face mirroring Jordan's.

"Oh really you admit your mistakes yet you couldn't admit that you slept with Nathan when he and Haley started dating."

"For your info Lucas, they weren't together when we hooked up. It was months before they got together."

"You mean?"

"Yes Lucas when you and I took a break I slept with Nathan and I believe that was around the time that you and Peyton hooked up for the first time." She snapped her phone shut and grabbed her bag from Nathan kissing his cheek.

"You okay?"  
"Yep I'm fine. I just had to sort stuff out with him."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Um…ya know we'll talk about it over dinner." Nathan nodded and headed off with Jordan for practice. She sighed and finished the walk to her dorm where her roomy Kayla was up and typing away on her lap-top.

"Hey Brooke!" Kayla stood up and gave Brooke a hug. Brooke always loved hugs from Kayla even though she hasn't known Kayla for long she still loved Kayla. She was her best friend. "I was just going to go to the library; would you like to join me?" Brooke nodded and they gathered their books and headed off to the library.

"I can believe Jessica gave us a break from practice this weekend!" Kayla exclaimed as they made their way to the library.

"That's because Tim's got her pretty busy."

"Wait whose Tim?"

"A friend from back home who's keeping Jessica off of our backs."

"I'm digging this Tim kid." Brooke laughed as Kayla nudged her a little bit.

"Yeah just don't let him hear you say that."

"Why?"

"He'll put his cheesy moves on you and it's embarrassing to watch."

"So are you and Nathan doing better?" She asked her tone serious.

"Yeah we made-up even had a kiss in the rain."

"That is so cute!" Brooke laughed how Kayla could go from serious to excited in less than a millisecond.

"Yeah it was pretty amazing." Brooke gushed as they entered the library. She sat down and smiled remembering their kiss in the rain and the amazing night they spent together reconnecting after a week of drifting. And oddly she felt like it was time to tell Nathan about what happened between her and Luke. She smiled to herself again as she pulled her stuff out and started on her English paper. She had a feeling that their trip home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday wasn't going to be horrible that maybe they might even witness a miracle.

A/N: Alright so that's a hint as to what's going to happen……..


	11. The First Date

Brooke stood in front of her mirror smoothing out her black skirt double checking everything. She wanted her first date with Nathan to be perfect and no one was going to screw it up. They had been dating for almost a week now and haven't actually gone on a date. Brooke was nervous because she hasn't been on a real date since she and Lucas went out.

Nathan walked to Brooke's dorm with a huge smile on his face. He was going out on a date with his amazing girlfriend, she reamed out his brother this morning, and most of all the thing that Nathan like she's amazing is that she's been there through everything that's been going on. He raised his hand to knock on the door when Kayla opened the door.

"Oh hey Nate, she's just about ready." Nathan nodded and stepped inside Brooke's room while Kayla scurried towards Nathan's room to see Jordan.

"Hey Brooke you almost ready?" Nathan asked falling back on her bed knowing that he would be sitting there for awhile.

"2 minutes." She turned towards him and twirled. "So you like?" Nathan looked at her first noticing her long legs that were barely covered in her short black dress. He nodded his head and she went back to finishing her make-up and exactly 2 minutes they where heading out the door. They walked the short distance to the restaurant just off campus and sat down.

"So how was your practice free day?"

"I surprising got my English paper done and started reading that novel."

"Maybe you could explain the novel to me because I absolutely don't get it."

"It's probably because you're not focusing on the book." Brooke laughed at Nathan's playfully shocked face.

"Well it's not my fault that my girlfriend's so beautiful that it's hard to keep my eyes off of her." Nathan replied loving the fact that he could make Brooke blush. She smiled at him as their food came and after finishing her food she looked up at Nathan.

"Alright so I guess you're wondering what was said this morning between Lucas and I." Nathan wiped his mouth nodding his head. "Well I guess I might as well come out and tell you. Awhile ago after Lucas and I broke up I thought I was pregnant." Nathan nodded his head encouraging her to continue. "Well I wasn't as you can tell but he still didn't take the news well. He said that there was no way he could be a father at such a young age. Then when I told him I wasn't pregnant he actually had the nerve to say that he was glad our lives weren't ruined. Then you and I slept together and to say he's furious is an understatement. I don't regret what happened between us but I am sorry that I didn't go after you earlier." Nathan choked on his coke and looked at the huge smile on her face.

"You're what?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't snatch you up earlier." He shook his head chuckling a little. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing you ready to get out of here?" Before she could answer Nathan had paid the bill and was laughing on his way out of the restaurant.

"Nathan!" She exclaimed jogging in her heels to catch up with him. "What's so funny?"

"It's funny that you say that because the only reason I went out with Peyton was to get closer to you." She giggled a little interlacing her fingers with Nathan's.

"That is a little funny." They settled into a comfortable silence as they walked back to Nathan's room. "So are you ready to go home for Thanksgiving?" He shook his head no then yes.

"I want to go home and see my mom but don't want to lose Keith."

"I know but maybe everything will be okay."

"How do you know?" He stopped and turned towards her trying to read her face.

"I don't know all I can do is hope and pray." Nathan sighed and Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck. "All you have to do is have faith." Nathan nodded and hugged Brooke.

Nathan looked down at Brooke and smiled a little at how much different she was from who she was in high school. Nathan took a deep breath and bent down to whisper into her ear. "I love you Brooke." She looked up at him surprised and his face fell. She pulled him to her and kissed him hard catching him off guard.

She pulled away and looked deep into Nathan's eyes. "I love you too Nathan." He smiled and picked her up twirling her around. "Now come on I have a feeling I'll have to repack everything you packed." He laughed as she dragged him back to his dorm.


	12. PreThanksgiving Miracles

Nathan and Brooke walked to baggage claim smiling and holding hands. Even though Nathan was still worrying about Keith he was happy that he had Brooke on his arm as his girlfriend. He couldn't imagine being with anyone else through everything they've gone through. He couldn't see himself trusting anyone else not even Haley who he hadn't heard anything about since she took off with Chris after they confronted her.

They gathered their bags and looked around for his mom. Brooke was the first to spot her and saw Keith standing behind her. She tugged Nathan's arm and pointed towards his mom his mouth fell open as he took off running towards Keith who had a huge smile on his face. Brooke smiled as Deb came up and helped her grab their bags while Nathan and Keith hugged.

"When did you wake up?"

"2 days ago and I thought I would surprise you."

"This is awesome!" Nathan exclaimed hugging Keith again. Keith smiled and hugged Nathan back happy to see Nathan happy after a year of depression after Dan died. Brooke was happy to see the sparkle return to Nathan's eye and his smile was all genuine unlike the somewhat forced ones she had seen.

"So I think that you boys should carry these bags because well you're boys." Brooke joked handing Nathan her bags and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Luke standing off to the side with Peyton next to him. Brooke and Peyton shared a hug while Luke just stood there. She wasn't going to embarrass herself in front of everyone and she certainly wasn't going to cause a scene to ruin Nathan's good mood. Nathan came up behind her and grabbed her hand as they walked towards the car.

"You okay?" Peyton asked while they rode back to Tree Hill. Deb thought best after hearing about Brooke and Luke's confrontation the other day that Peyton should drive Brooke back to Tree Hill.

"Yes and no. I'm sorry if this offends you but he had no right to say that to Nathan and I'm not sorry about what I said to him."

"I'm not mad at you for what you said, you had every right to ream him out. He knows that he was wrong."

"I'm not forgiving him."

"All I'm asking is that you don't cause a scene." Brooke looked at her best friend wondering what changed because the last time her and Luke had a fight Peyton was furious at Brooke for yelling at Luke.

"What?"

"I don't want you guys blowing up at each other again and I don't think Nathan does either." Peyton looked at the weird face on Brooke's face but before she could ask about it they were in Tree Hill and pulling into Nathan's house.

"You guys are staying here?" Nathan asked getting out of the car as Deb went in the house to get stuff.

"Actually Nathan we're going to spend Thanksgiving at the beach house because it was room for all of us. Luke's mom is coming too."

"Is Haley coming?" Brooke asked out of curiosity knowing that she was the only one brave enough to ask.

"No." Deb merely replied coming out of the house with bags and they were yet again in the car driving the 20 minute drive out to the deserted beach house. When they pulled up Karen and Andy were there to meet them helping Deb and Keith carrying the food into the house. The teens walked into the house and instantly went to pick out bedrooms. Nathan and Brooke choose the room at the end of the hall not wanting to be near Luke. Nathan shut the door and kissed Brooke.

"Someone's in a better mood." Brooke commented as she rummaged through her bag for something more comfy to wear. They were just going to hang out around the house tonight so they wouldn't be too tired for tomorrow.

"Well now I don't have that nagging voice in my head worrying about Keith. Now I can focus on school, basketball, and you." He kissed her again and pushed her down on the bed. She wrapped her arms around Nathan pulling him closer before pulling away and getting up. "Where are you going?"

"I wanna take a walk on the beach with you." He smiled sitting up on the bed while she grabbed jeans and a t-shirt to change out of her skirt and tank top. It was chillier then she thought it would be.

Nathan grabbed their jackets and joined Brooke to walk down to the beach. He grabbed her hand as they silently walked down the beach enjoying the calming sounds of the waves and chilly air.

"Thank you for coming with me." She looked up at him as they sat down on the sand.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't have to come with me but you did even though you knew that he would be here so thank you."

"It's no problem. It was so worth it when I saw you smile while you hugged Keith." He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She laid her head on his shoulder as they sat there talking about school and Tim.

"So what are you going to do for Christmas?" Nathan asked after they sat there in silence for awhile. He wanted her to say that she would spend Christmas with him but knowing her she's going to be with her parents.

"I don't know, what do you think I should do?"

"Spend Christmas with me."

"Well I'm going to have to."

"Why?"

"You have games on the 21st and 28th."

"Oh yeah I totally forgot."

"We'll be home for like 5 days before we have to go to practice." Nathan nodded and moved closer to her.

"At least I'll get to see you in your uniform." She blushed and swatted his chest. The sun was setting and the scene was perfect. Nathan looked at Brooke and kissed her slowly drawing out the kiss for as long as humanly possible. Moments later they pulled apart and they decided to go back to the beach house and watch a movie.

The adults were running around the kitchen preparing things for tomorrow both for dinner and breakfast. Keith noticed Brooke and Nathan walk in their hands clasped together as Nathan stopped her and kissed her before she scurried away a smile on her face mirroring the one on Nathan's. Keith smiled and set down the towel he was holding and walking over to Nathan who was starring in the direction Brooke had just went.

"Hey Nathan."

"Hey Keith." Nathan looked at the smile on the Keith's face and his smile grew.

"You wanna sit with me outside?" Nathan nodded eyeing Keith strangely as they walked outside. They sat under the yawning and watched the waves roll in and out.

"So what's up?"

"I just wanted to see what I missed?"

"Well Brooke and I are together."

"I got that much."

"Um….things are a little tense with Luke."

"Why what happened?"

"He called me and told me that I wasn't good enough for Brooke and on top of everything else I was going through I flipped got Brooke pissed at me and then she reamed him out."

"That sounds so unlike Luke."

"I know."

"But before that Haley came storming back into our lives when we came home after the accident and said that either me or Luke got her pregnant."

"What?"

"Yeah I was walking into the kitchen and she was sitting there said mom let her in on her way out and we talked then I wasn't feeling too hot so Brooke and I just decided to watch TV when Luke called and said he needed to talk to me and that's when he told me that Haley was pregnant and it wasn't Chris's." Keith nodded his head trying to comprehend how Haley could try and pin two brothers against each other. "But we're all past that and don't be surprised if tomorrow's it's pretty tense because Brooke's not talking to Luke and I don't know if I should forgive him for what he said." Nathan scowled thinking about what had happened the previous day with Luke and all the drama he had caused.

"I think that we need to change the subject so how are things with Brooke?"

"We've gotten through the rough part and now moving onto the good parts."

"You love her don't you?"

"Yeah, she's been through think and thin with me and put up with all the hurtles put in front of her. She even stood up to me after I was such an ass to her."

"You being an ass? No way can't be." Nathan laughed at Keith's sarcasm.

"I know it's such a stretch from my normal demeanor."

"Oh my alert the press Nathan used a big word." Brooke joked from the door. Keith laughed at the huge smiles on their faces.

"Hello Brooke."

"Hey Keith. I heard my name so I did a little ease dropping."

"A little?" Nathan quirked this eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

"Yes Nathan a little." She smacked his arm and he pouted. "So Keith how are you?"

"Doing good, a little stiff but overall doing well just trying to get caught up with all that happened."

"Well at least you're okay." Brooke patted his hand and Keith smiled.

"Yeah that's the light at the end of the tunnel." Brooke nodded her head before leaning into Nathan who rolled his eyes playfully and put his arm around her. They chatted for a while before Luke came out to invite anyone back into Tree Hill to get some stuff Deb and Karen forgot. Keith accepted and left Nathan and Brooke on the deck.

"I love you." He whispered as she moved into his lap lying her head on his shoulder just watching the tide.

"I love you too."

"You're so awesome for putting up with him."

"It's nothing; this isn't time for drama. This is a time of thanks."

"Oh and what are you thankful for?" Nathan asked seeing her eyes twinkle which he loved about her.

"There's so many things, what about you?"

"You."

"What?"

"I'm thankful for you. You put up with all my shit the past couple of weeks when you didn't want to and for that I'm thankful." Brooke blushed for the 5th maybe 7th time today she couldn't remember but she loved how Nathan could make her blush.

"When did you get sweet?"

"When I fell in love with you." Her already pink cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink making him grin and kissed her cheek as they sat there. Finally the chilly air got to them and they went back into the house noticing the hustle and bustle that once rang through the house was now the adults watching some movie in the living room and chatting and the lone light down the hall signaling that Peyton was alone. Brooke decided to check on her before going off to bed with Nathan.

"Hey Peyton you okay?" Brooke whispered through the door not knowing if she was asleep or not. When Brooke heard sniffling her best friend protectiveness kicked into high gear and Brooke flew into the room to see Peyton huddled in the middle of the bed head resting on her knees the knees of her jeans soaked from her sobs. Brooke was right at her side holding her silently reassuring that everything would be alright without even voicing it. Peyton just clung to Brooke has tears racked through her body. Nathan was soon at the door Brooke motioned for him to keep Luke out of the room if he came back soon and Nathan nodded going to sit by the front door.

Once Peyton had stopped crying Brooke pulled away from her to look her in the eye. "P Sawyer what's wrong?"

"I got accepted to the School of Design in Santa Fe."

"Not really seeing a problem."

"That was actually the good news."

"The bad news?"

"Jake called me." Brooke's mouth fell into an 'o' and she relaxed her tense body next to Peyton's letting the seriousness of the situation sink in. "It's been almost 3 years since I heard from him and out of the blue he calls me." Brooke rubbed Peyton's arm handing a tissue that was next to the bed.

"It's okay."

"No it's not okay. I thought I was happy with Luke that I had finally gotten over Jake and then he calls and the heart break and sadness comes rushing back."

"I know Peyton I know."

"What am I going to tell Luke?"

"You don't need to tell him anything except that you got into the school of your dreams."

"I have to tell him."

"No you don't. He doesn't need to know every single detail of your life. He's not your keeper or father he's your _boyfriend_ it's not his job to know every little thing that happens every day."

"I think I should tell him."

"In the end it's your decision and I can't make it for you but I'm just saying." Peyton sniffled and nodded. "I'm gonna let you sleep. Good night Peyton."

"Night Brooke and thanks."

"No problem." She hugged Peyton and left the room walking the short distance back to her room and fell back on the bed. Nathan moments later came in and laid down next to her talking to her about something but she didn't hear she was out and Nathan kissed her forehead pulling the covers over them as they cuddled.

Tomorrow would soon descend upon them but right now at this moment in time they are content just lying there fast asleep in each other's arms silently showing their thanks to each other.

Author's note: Wow 4.5 pages that's a new record! I had a blast writing this chapter and hope to have the other one up soon.


	13. Thanksgiving

The morning of Thanksgiving Nathan woke early and found that Brooke wasn't in bed with him. He got up and went into the kitchen to see if his mom had started breakfast and when he got to the kitchen it wasn't his mom and Karen making breakfast it was Peyton and Brooke. Keith sat on a stool leaning on the island asking if they needed help and Peyton kept telling him no. Nathan couldn't help but laugh. Brooke looked and smiled at Nathan giving him a quick kiss as she fished the eggs out of the fridge.

"Good morning." Keith nodded his head as Nathan sat down next to him. "Do you guys need help?" Peyton shook her head no from her spot at the stove.

"No we don't but in a little bit you guys have to get everyone up." Nathan shook his head and grabbed the sport section of the paper. Brooke and Peyton rushed about the kitchen making the best breakfast that they've ever tried to make. "Nathan I need you to set the table and Keith could you be a sweetheart and get everyone up?" Keith nodded and walked out of the kitchen and Nathan slowly started getting up. "Nathan move a little faster." He chuckled as Brooke yelled at him seeing the smile on her face and sparkle in her eye. He nudged Peyton as he got the dishes from the cabinet and he could tell that she had a rough night. He gave her a small smile for reassurance and went about setting the table.

After the table was set and the food was put on the table Deb and Karen walked in ready to make breakfast. "What is all of this?" Karen asked looking over all the food and the clean kitchen.

"Well Peyton and I got up early this morning and decided to make you guys breakfast and Nathan even helped." Deb smiled and kissed Nathan's cheek as he beamed.

"You girls didn't have to do this." Deb gushed as Brooke poured her coffee.

"Yes we did, you guys have enough work to do for dinner you don't need to make breakfast. Plus you guys will be dining teenager free. We will be enjoying our breakfast outside so you don't have to put up with us."

"Thank you Brooke." Karen said as Brooke walked out to join Peyton, Nathan, and Luke outside on the deck for breakfast. It was a little warmer today and Brooke loved it. She sat down at the table a huge smile fixated on her face; nothing was going to bring her down today not even Luke.

"Happy Thanksgiving guys, let's make this the best ever!" Brooke exclaimed trying to lighten the tension but failing. "Come on you guys be happy you're bringing me down." Nathan tried to smile but failed and put his hand on Brooke's thigh trying to keep her calm. No one wanted Brooke to flip out today because it wasn't pretty.

Finally giving up Brooke finished her breakfast and cleared her plate storming in the house smiling at Deb and Karen and continuing on her way to the bedroom to throw some clothes on to do something away from Luke.

Nathan sat at the table with Peyton and Luke and he could feel the tension. He wasn't going to care about what Luke says anymore because it would only put a bigger strain on his relationship with Brooke. He stood up gathered up his dirty dishes and walked into the house feeling his body relax as he walked down the hallway. Brooke was sitting on the bed her head in her hands the knees of her jeans soaked from her tears. Nathan flew to her side instantly lifting her head to look at him.

"What's wrong?" Brooke shook her head putting her head back down. "Brooke baby what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She muttered and went to stand up but Nathan blocked her pushing her back down on the bed.

"Brooke come on, don't lie."

"It's nothing Nathan really." She pushed his hands off on her and stood up moving towards her suitcase grabbing whatever was on top.

"Brooke, why are you pushing me away?"

"I'm not pushing you away Nathan, there's nothing wrong." She angrily replied turning around and looking at Nathan.

"Whatever Brooke." He softly replied and stormed out of the room and stopped right in front of Luke and Peyton.

"Nathan what's wrong?"

"Not a damn thing." He tried to move past but Peyton moved in front of him making him groan in frustration.

"Nathan," She tried again and he flung his head up his angry eyes meeting her concerned ones making her shiver from the intensity of his stare.

"He's what's wrong! He just had to open his fucking mouth and now she's crying and won't talk to me." He pushed past Peyton and stormed off grabbing the keys to Keith's jeep and moments later speeding off. Peyton looked at Luke and walked into Brooke's room. Brooke paced around the room throwing her stuff in her bag when she noticed Peyton standing there.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to spend Thanksgiving back at school, I can't be here."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too much." She grabbed her suitcase and started towards the door knowing that she owed Peyton an explanation. "Maybe I never got over Lucas." She softly added before walking out the door and past Luke not giving him a chance to see her crying over him.

An hour later Nathan came back feeling calmer and wanted to talk to Brooke. When he walked in Peyton met him at the door telling him they had to talk. "I have to talk to Brooke first, where she is?"

"This is about Brooke." Nathan looked at her for a moment before following her onto the deck.

"What's going on?"

"Brooke left."

"What!" He exclaimed feeling the anger rising again.

"She said that it was too much and before she left that maybe she never got over Luke." Nathan sat down knowing that those words meant it was over between them. He felt his heart break in two as it settled in that Luke had won. He shook his head before getting up ignoring Peyton who was calling after him. He saw Luke and felt the fury explode in his body. He threw himself at Luke throwing both of them at the wall.

"Nathan what the hell!" Luke shouted as Nathan pulled away from him to slug him.

"You son of a bitch! She left me because of you!" He slugged him again before Keith pulled Nathan away from Luke whose lip was bleeding. Karen looked between Nathan and Lucas and Deb emerged from the Kitchen announcing dinner was ready. "I'm not eating." Nathan growled freeing himself from Keith's grasp and grabbing the keys again speeding off.

Brooke sat in the airport the tears flowing freely down her face. She didn't care who saw her crying it didn't matter anymore. She was still in love with Lucas and couldn't bare to see him happy with Peyton. She wasn't being fair with Nathan and she couldn't keep up the façade with him. He had a right to be happy with some girl that didn't have the baggage of Lucas and the other baggage she had. Her cell rang and rang over and over and she never dared to open it fearing it was Nathan or Peyton. Finally growing tired she shut it off sighing as she slouched lower in the plastic chair she was holding. She was hungry but couldn't bring herself to eat, the small airport was surprisingly fuller than Brooke thought it would be on Thanksgiving, she watched one couple seated down a little further from her cuddling and laughing over something the guy said and it brought new tears to her eyes.

Nathan laid on the bed that he had shared with Brooke the night before when everything was okay wishing that they had never come home for Thanksgiving. This isn't how he imagined his freshman year at college; he imaged that he would be the big man on campus having all the ladies flock around him and he would be happy. The silence in the room wasn't helping because it gave Nathan time to think which made him even more pissed off than he was before. Finally giving in he drifted off to a dreamless sleep dreading going back to school.

Brooke stood as her plane was being called and bumped into the person in front of her sending her stuff to the floor and the contents of her bag to spill on the floor. "Oh I'm sorry."

"No it's okay." Brooke smiled looking up at the person she bumped into and her mouth fell open.

"Oh hey Brooke, what are you doing in the airport on Thanksgiving?"  
"Jake! What are you doing here!" Brooke exclaimed wrapping her arms around him.

"My parents thought that it was time for me to home and may I ask what you're doing here?"

"Going back to school." She softly muttered falling back into the plastic chair beneath her.

"What happened?" She sighed and looked up at him with watery eyes the tears moments away from falling.

"I screwed up big time."

"Brooke tell me what happened?" He urged sitting down next to her putting an arm around her in comfort.

"Well last year when Lucas and Peyton got together I took off to spend time with my cousins and started school and of course Nathan was there and we started dating and I thought I was in love with him and then when we came home for Thanksgiving I realized that I wasn't over Lucas and took off."

"Brooke I believe you may not be over Luke but he was the first person you actually fell in love with and you'll never get over him but I think you love Nathan."

"It doesn't matter, I have to go I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and it was nice seeing you." She smiled the tears still flowing down her face. She walked away and got on her plane preparing for the time alone. Jake shook his head at her foolishness and intended to fix it.


	14. I need you

Peyton sat outside on the deck letting the cool air swirl around her. Her tears were hot keeping her cheeks warm. She knew that she had to tell Luke about school and Jake calling her but how could she break up her best friend's relationship. If only Peyton had talked Luke into going to see her dad with her then none of this would have happened. But no she had to give it to his gorgeous blue eyes that were her weakness.

Peyton jumped when Luke sat down next to her wrapping a blanket around her shivering shoulders. She looked at him the tears trailing off her face and sniffled. He looked her with his intense concerned look that made Peyton swoon.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to talk to you."

"Okay?" Luke asked confused.

"Um…I got accepted to the School of Design in Santa Fe and Jake called…." She trailed watching his face fall from the last part of her news. He knew what Jake called meant, it meant she was having second thoughts about them being together he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"That's great Peyton I'm really proud of you." He kissed her softly on the cheek and quickly pulled away from her. He didn't know where they were going to go from here because he knew that in short amount of time she would break up with him.

Nathan woke up in a sweat from his nightmare hoping that Brooke was there but then reality settled in that she wasn't ever going to be there again. He turned the light on and something shined in the distance. He got up out of bed and walked over to the object noticing that it was the bracelet that Brooke always wore. He remembered when he helped Luke pick that out for her and then kicked himself for not noticing it when they were together. He picked up the bracelet and went off to find Luke; he was going to stay calm the whole time he was around him. He wasn't going to ruin his families Thanksgiving. Everyone was sitting in the living room watching a movie on TV and Nathan sighed. He walked over to Luke and bent down so only he could hear him. "Here she left this for you." He handed him the bracelet and turned walking towards his mom. "I'm going to go spend the rest of the weekend at the house, okay?" She looked up into his eyes seeing the hurt and anger in his eyes and nodded handing him the keys to her car. He kissed her cheek and went to grab his stuff; maybe some time away from Luke would make Nathan feel better.

As Nathan drove back to the house thoughts of Brooke sitting alone in her dorm room probably crying made Nathan feel like an ass for pressuring her into going out with him, he should've known that she couldn't love him when she was already in love with Luke no matter how shitty he had treated her.

Nathan sat alone in the living room watching something mindless on TV not really watching anyway. No matter how hard he tried to focus on what was on TV it just wasn't working. Finally someone knocked on the door and Nathan ran it to hoping that it was Brooke but it was only Jake.

"Hey." Nathan replied his once excited expression replaced with the same one he's had since Brooke had left him to go spend the rest of the weekend alone in her dorm.

"Gee Nathan you know how to make a guy feel welcome." Jake laughed making Nathan smile a little bit.

"Sorry man, it's just been a crazy weekend." Nathan gave Jake a hug and ushered him into the living room. "What brings you back to this dramatic town?"

"Brooke."

"What?" Nathan didn't know if he heard him correctly.

"I ran into her at the airport and she told me everything that had happened and Nathan she really loves you."

"Yeah sure."

"I'm serious, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about you dude I know that means she loves you. This whole Luke thing is just her trying to get away from getting her heart broken. She doesn't want you to pull a Luke and leave her to pick up the pieces of her broken heart." Nathan just sat there starring at Jake wanting to know why Jake was back of a sudden.

"Can I ask you a question well 2 questions?" Nathan dared testing the waters.

"Sure."

"Why'd you leave?"

"My daughter is my life, I couldn't just hand her over to that bitch Nikki. I have to keep my daughter."

"Why are you back?"

"I thought it was time to come back and face the music."

"What about Peyton?"

"She's with Luke now, so there's no chance for us to be together." His voice oozed of regret and hurt and Nathan could relate. Nathan nodded his head and someone yet again knocked on the door. He excused himself and slowly walked to the door, Jake left too walking out the back door having a sense of who was at the door. Nathan opened the door and almost fell over in shock. "Brooke," He looked at her with her smeared make-up, messy hair, and blood shot eyes. The tears were still streaming down her face full force and his heart melted.

"I'm sorry, I was stupid and I'm really sorry." Nathan looked at her as she sighed and turned to leave. He couldn't just let her walk away but he opened his mouth to talk and nothing came out.

"Brooke!" He finally managed to say and she turned sniffling and wiping the tears from her eyes. He walked to her and pulled her to him as she clung to him.

"It's not fair! He broke my heart yet I still have some form of feelings for him." She sobbed into his chest as he rubbed her back trying to calm her down. He was happy that she was back in his arms not Luke's.

"Have you eaten today?" Brooke shook her head no and Nathan led her to the car. He knew where he could get leftovers and he was hungry too. He opened her door for her and pulled her to him kissing her passionately and she melted into his arms. He pulled away and wiped away the remaining tears running down her face. She looked up at him gazing deep into his eyes and he starred back seeing the hurt, confusion, and love in her eyes. She was looking at him with love filled in her eyes not Luke! He smiled and pulled her in for another kiss which she gladly accepted pulling his body closer to hers. They broke apart for air resting their foreheads against each other. She slid her hand up around his neck pulling him closer and kissing him again. He leaned against the car to balance them as he leaned over to further the kiss and she started pulling him back into the house.

He stopped at the door looking at her as she stood in the doorway waiting for him to follow her. "Brooke, what are you doing?"

"I need you right now." She whispered locking eyes with him. "I love you Nate and right now I need to be with you." She pulled him into the house and kissed him again pulling his body closer to her. He walked up the stairs as she waited at the top a small smile growing on her face. He smiled at her as he walked towards his room throwing the door open he fell back on his bed waiting for her to shut the door and join him.

Brooke sat in his lap kissing him again and this time Nathan pulled away and looked into her eyes for awhile before kissing her once again pulling away. "I love you Brooke." She smiled and kissed him as he pulled her down towards him and flipping them over so he was on top. They made love that night finally getting rid of all the drama in their lives and just focusing on what was important at that moment in time…them.


	15. The REAL Reason

Brooke woke up cold and her stomach grumbling she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning and now she was almost throwing up she was so hungry. She sat up in Nathan's bed and realized that he wasn't in bed with her. She got out of bed throwing on some of Nathan's clothes before walking out of the room and down the stairs. The house was quiet and it was starting to freak Brooke out, knowing her luck there would be a rapist or murderer in the house and they would attack her and no one would find her for days. She jumped as the step beneath her groaned as she put her weight on it. She sat on the stairs panting and waiting for her heart to recover before continuing on her way down.

She put her hands out in front of her hoping to find the baseball bat that Nathan's mom kept near the front door when she found it she grabbed it and slowly crept down the hall. She heard noises coming from the kitchen and she mentally prepared herself. When she reached the kitchen she flipped on the lights and screamed.

Nathan dropped the knife in his hand and jumped from the sound of Brooke's voice. He looked up at her and laughed as he looked at her clutching the bat like her life depended on it and her eyes closed. He picked the knife up off the floor and placed it in the sink walking over to her he took the bat out of her hands.

"Don't rape me please don't rape me." She whispered squeezing her eyes even tighter.

"Brooke don't worry it's just me." She opened her eyes and smacked Nathan.

"That wasn't funny Nathan." Nathan shook his head howling with laughter. Tears fall down his face he was laughing so hard. She just looked at him a smile slowly growing on her face and she giggled a little before turning serious again. "What are you doing down here anyway?"

"I was hungry so I came down here to make something for both of us." He replied moments later as his laughter subsided. He went back to making them some sandwiches and she sat on the counter a few feet away from him.

"How's Peyton?"  
"She didn't want to tell me you left and she didn't want to tell Luke that she was leaving for school or that Jake called. Now Jake's back she'll be torn."

"No she won't."

"Huh?"

"She knows that she needs to get away from here so does Luke know that. So if he was smart he would let her leave and when she comes back she'll be able to commit herself to one of them. She just needs to get out of this place."

"Escaping does help."

"Yeah cause if we didn't we wouldn't be together right now." He smiled and leaned over kissing her softly on the lips. He handed her a sandwich and they ate in silence for awhile before Brooke sighed. "Look I'm sorry about taking off earlier, it wasn't fair to you."

"You were upset and dealing with stuff I understand."

"No Nathan you don't, I didn't leave because of him he was just my excuse so you won't follow me. I'm scared of you Nathan."

"You're scared of me?"

"I'm afraid that I'm just gonna get hurt again and I can't handle that. You're the second serious boyfriend I've had and the first one wasn't the greatest to begin with so I have reservations about giving my heart away. I just don't want go through that hell again."

"Brooke I know what you're going through. Haley put me through hell and broke my heart in the end. I don't want you to think that I'm gonna leave you, I wouldn't do that to you. Maybe we should slow things down a bit?"

"Slow things down, like break up?" Her eyes were watering again and Brooke didn't care.

"No definitely not, just slow things down not so much pressure."

"Oh." Now she felt stupid for thinking he would break up with her.

"You thought I was going to break up with you?" Brooke looked down to the ground and shrugged. "I wouldn't do that to you." He lifted her chin and softly kissed her. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. It was nice just being with her without anything getting in the way. "We should go back to the beach house tomorrow so my mom doesn't worry about us since we're having another Thanksgiving."

"Why?"

"All the relatives are coming in so my mom's having another."

"Yeah I have to talk to Peyton anyway."

"You really think she'll be okay?"

"I know she will be."

"So do I." Nathan smiled for once not worrying about anything between him and Brooke. He was glad that they had talked and gotten things out in the open and now all they had to worry about was Peyton. He looked at Brooke and could see the concern over Peyton in her eyes and he rubbed her arm gently hoping that she knew that he was always here for her. "I love you." They whispered at the same time before going off to bed.


	16. 2nd Thanksgiving

Peyton yet again sat out in the deck watching the waves roll in and out the gentle breeze comforting her as her mind raced. She didn't know what to do about Luke now that she was leaving for school in January. She was nervous about being on her own after having someone there for her for almost a year now. She wants to call Brooke and make sure she's okay and not hurting over what happened the other day. She needs Brooke to tell her to go to school because she can't bring herself to do it.

Brooke and Nathan walked into the beach house and Brooke said hello to everyone except Lucas who was holed up in the bedroom probably brooding over Peyton leaving him. She made a mental note to go talk to him after she dealt with Peyton. 'Hoes before Bros,' she thought to herself as she opened the door out to the deck. She sat down next to Peyton throwing her arm around her in the process. "You're going to school Peyton." Peyton smiled as Brooke squeezed her shoulder. "You're not going to throw your dream away because of some guy; you worked hard for this Peyton. Do something for yourself for once."

"Thanks Brooke." Peyton whispered just loud enough for them to hear. Brooke nodded and left her friend to think and made her way to Luke's room but stopped short when she heard Nathan and Luke talking. She smiled and continued on past them to the bedroom her and Nathan shared before all the drama went down. She fell back on the bed and smiled. Moments later she felt the bed sink and Nathan's hand brush stray hair from her eyes. "Did you Luke have a nice talk?"

"Yeah I told him that if he had to let Peyton do her own thing. I think it's going to be hard for them but they'll be fine." He smiled and kissed her cheek softly the silence between them comforting. It had been a long time since they were actually alone together anymore. They were either at practice, in class, or hanging out with Tim, Jordan, and Kayla. 'Some alone time was definitely in order,' Nathan thought as he and Brooke drifted off to sleep.

Deb walked into the room 2 hours later and smiled at the sight of Nathan and Brooke curled up together huge smiles on their faces as they slept. She turned back towards the door shutting it quietly behind her; she would let them sleep another hour. Brooke was the first to wake up moments after Deb left the room feeling well rested and good. She was happy with her life now, she had an amazing boyfriend, amazing friends, she was an awesome cheerleader, and even had a high GPA she couldn't wish for more. She smiled shifting so she was face to face with Nathan, she loved watching him sleep. She would wake up early when she spent the night and just watch him sleep because he always had a huge smile on his face which made Brooke's smile even wider. She watched him for a couple of moments before gently kissing him. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled at her kissing her nose gently. That was their thing, she would kiss him to get up and he would gently kiss her on the nose telling her that he was awake except for those few times when Nathan faked it so she would have to kiss him again.

Nathan stretched and stood leaving Brooke alone in bed all by herself going into the bathroom. Brooke swung her legs over the edge just sitting there not knowing what to do next. She had to find a way to get her suitcase out of the car without being stopped by Nathan's family that she had arrived an hour earlier, she didn't want her first meeting with his grandparents to be in a pair of his basketball shorts and a wife beater. She grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and quickly sent Peyton a text asking her to ask Luke to get her suitcase out of the car.

Moments later Luke was knocking on the door her suitcase in his hands and his chest heaving up and down. "Thank you."

"No problem I brought Nathan's too." He gasped in between breaths.

"Did you have to run to get them?"

"Yeah." He turned to leave but turned remembering what Deb had told him. "Deb told me to tell you that dinner's at 6:30 but she wants you out there at 6:15 and look nice."

"Thanks again Luke." She pulled the suitcases into the room throwing hers on the bed. She ripped it open and found the black dress that she had packed for tonight. Nathan came out of the bathroom only in a towel and kissed the back of Brooke's neck.

"How did our suitcases get in here?"

"I had Peyton get Luke to get them for us." Brooke replied nonchalantly before going into the bathroom to shower. She only had 45 minutes to get ready when she really needed an hour or two tops. As she stood in front of the mirror putting on her makeup she felt the butterflies growing in her stomach. "What if they don't like me?" She blurted out as Nathan walked past the bathroom he stopped and smiled at her.

"Then they don't know you." She looked at him confused as to what he meant by that. "I mean if they don't like you then they didn't take the time to get to know you. I know I liked you even more after I got to know you." She smiled.

"Nice save."

"I try." He kissed her cheek as she grabbed her mascara. "Come on we have 2 minutes." Nathan called from the bed as he flipped the TV off. He got up from the bed and turned towards the bathroom as Brooke walked out and his mouth fell open.

"Do you like?" She asked twirling around him giving him the full view. He nodded his head and walked out with her. "Let's go meet the firing squad."

A/N: I'm going to stop there as some sort of cliffhanger. I hope you guys enjoy!


	17. Meeting the Fam

Author's note: Alright here's the next chapter in the story and the introduction of Nathans' grandparents Paul and Ruby, I don't remember them ever being in the show so I just made them up. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Brooke and Nathan walked out of their bedroom at the exact time as Peyton and Luke they all shared smiles and continued their way out into the living room. Peyton and Brooke both shared a quick hand squeeze giving each other encouragement since it the first time that both girls were meeting the whole Scott family clan and it was a little nerve wrecking. Nathan kissed Brooke's cheek as they joined the rest of the family.

"Nathan aren't you going to introduce us to your guest?" Nathan blushed and looked down for a moment. He didn't know why his grandma's words had made him blush, maybe because this was the first time that his family was actually meeting a girlfriend instead of just hearing about it like they did with his marriage to Haley.

"Sorry about that, Grandma, Grandpa this is my girlfriend Brooke." Brooke smiled and extended her hand, just like her parents had taught her. She could just hear her mom's words over and over in her head, "Always be respectul and polite when you meet new people it leaves a good impression."

"Looks like you caught yourself a keeper there son." Nathan's grandfather, Paul joked nudging him lightly with his elbow. Nathan blushed more and Brooke giggled a bit.

"So Brooke how did you and Nathan meet?" His grandma, Ruby asked as they broke away from Nathan and Paul.

"We went to high school together and then met up again in college, he's the raising star on the basketball team and I'm just his cheerleader."

"That's so cute the basketball player and the cheerleader." Paul and Ruby gushed making both Nathan and Brooke blush.

"Did you know that Brooke was captain of the cheerleading squad in high school mom?" Keith asked popping up out of almost nowhere. Now it was Brooke's turn to blush.

"Oh! That's so cute! Nathan was the captain of the basketball team, you two were meant for each other!" Ruby gushed making Brooke turned a deeper shade of red. She wasn't used to blushing this much, no matter how much people always commented on good she looked or how much of a cute couple her and a boyfriend made but somehow hearing Nathan's grandma say all these things made her feel even more confident about their relationship.

As the family sat down for dinner Nathan pulled Brooke towards him as the group continued on their way to the dining room. He looked at her and kissed her slowly savoring every moment. "I love you for sticking through this."

"It's not really that bad, plus your grandma is cool." Nathan chuckled and they shared another brief kiss.

"Hey are you two gonna join us or continue to make kissy faces at each other all night?" Keith joked making the whole table erupt in laughter and make the couple turn the same crimson shade. Keith just smiled at Nathan and they started eating.

Brooke and Peyton decided to help the woman in the kitchen so the man could watch TV and talk about the girls. Peyton and Brooke made sure they were on the outskirts of the kitchen so they ease drop on the whole thing. They were curious to see what their boyfriends would say about them. Deb just laughed at the girls as they intently listened to the conversation in the living room.

"So Nathan how's school?"

"Um….it's pretty draining at times, with classes, homework, practices, and away games it can get a little overwhelming at times but I'm managing." Nathan replied and soon Keith and Paul launched into old stories about past relationships and Nathan let his mind wander.

Things had been going great for him lately, they were undefeated in basketball, he was actually getting A's and B's in all of his classes, he had amazing friends. It seemed that everything was finally falling into place. It was funny to him how just when everything was falling into place for him it seemed to be falling apart for his brother, he didn't know if he should talk about it with Luke or not since they haven't had the best past recently.

His past with Luke has been full of drama with the whole fighting over Peyton when Luke joined the team, fighting over Haley, fighting over Dan's attention, then all of a sudden both of their worlds were rocked when Dan died. Dan's death seemed to bring them closer together since they both needed that push and no one but Dan actually gave them that. So for awhile it was good between them, they actually sat together at graduation unlike what they were originally going to do. They had put everything behind them and worked on becoming brothers not enemies then the whole thing with Brooke. It seemed to make sense that Luke was losing Peyton and wants somebody to be his motivation.

Nathan watched as Luke slipped away from Keith and Paul and went out onto the deck. Nathan got up and cut Peyton off, "Let me talk to him." She nodded and headed back towards Brooke who just smiled at Nathan's back. Nathan walked out onto the deck watching Luke on the beach. He could tell that Luke was hurting right now and Nathan knew just how he felt. He slowly made his way down the stairs to the beach and was sitting next to Luke on the beach.

"Hey." Nathan softly supplied breaking the tension between them.

"Hey." Luke was brooding now and Nathan could tell that he was putting up the wall so no one could see his emotions.

"I heard about Peyton and I know it sucks but you both need this."

"What are you talking about?"

"Luke you guys have been together for almost a year now and have broken up more times then I can count, you guys need some time off. You need to focus on you and finishing school. You both have dreams so just take time to work on accomplishing your dreams." Nathan looked at Luke straight in the eye something he hasn't done since the day of Dan's funeral.

_Flashback_

Nathan sat holding his mom's hand as the warm sun beat down on them. Today was his dad's funeral and Nathan was going to hold back his tears until he was safe in the beach house. It had been almost a month since he had talked to Brooke about what happened. Nathan stood up needing from fresh air, he walked right past Brooke. He felt bad for ignoring her but that's what they did. They would hang out and talk at the beach house and ignore each other, that was the safest thing.

He found a nearby tree and slid down pulling his knees up and resting his head on his knees. He still felt that empty feeling like his motivation was gone for good never going to come back. He was graduating in less an 3 months and still didn't know where he was going. He had gotten acceptance letters from almost every school that he applied and he was leaning towards Duke right before Dan died but now he didn't know if he could go there, that was his and Dan's dream and now that Dan was gone it just didn't seem right.

Nathan felt someone sitting next to him and turned to see Luke starring at him concern and sadness written all over his face, neither one would admit that they actually loved their dad but it was silently spoken between them right here.

"Nate you don't have to pretend that this is sad."

"I'm not pretending I'm delaying my emotions."

"It's okay to cry."

"I have to be strong for my mom Luke; she's having a rough enough time."

"Yeah who thought that all these people actually liked Dan?" Luke joked trying to lighten the mood and Nathan laughed a little.

"It's amazing sometimes." They sat in silence for a few more moments before Luke stood up offering his hand to help Nathan up.

"Come on your mom needs you." Nathan accepted his hand and they shared a brief man hug before going back to the funeral. That day was the first day that Luke and Nathan actually had a decent conversation and it made Nathan feel a little better. That was the day that he had actually called Luke his brother.

_Flashback_

Luke just watched the tide roll in and out neither saying a word just sitting there together as the tide rolled in and out. Luke knew Nathan was right he just didn't know if he could do it by himself, ever since he and Peyton had gotten together they did everything together so naturally he was a little scared about going to school all by himself. Luke turned towards Nathan and memories came flooding back.

"I don't know if I can do it by myself." He whispered grabbing Nathan's attention.

"Hey I know it's scary and I was scared to being all by myself but then I met Jordan and Brooke and I became friends before we started dating. You're gonna meet a lot of people at school and make tons of friends. So don't give up your dream because you're scared of what's out there." Luke shook his head in agreement and Nathan stood up offering his hand and helping Luke up just like he had done the day of the funeral. They shared a another hug a little longer than the last one they had.

"Come on little brother let's go join the family." Nathan smiled and shoved Luke a little before taking off challenging Luke to a little race. Brooke and Peyton watched from the deck smiling that things were good between the group for now.


	18. Home for the Holidays

Brooke and Nathan stepped off the plane and looked around for Luke, they were tired from traveling and just wanted to head to the beach house and relax. They were only in town for 3 days until they had to head back to school for practice and games. It was rough the past couple of days for them and this was the first time they were actually spending time together. Nathan spotted Luke and they pushed their way through the crowd of people and grabbed their bags heading out to the car. Brooke noticed that something was different with Luke, he was a lot happier and she knew that he couldn't possibly be happy about him and Peyton breaking up and her moving down to Santa Fe to get adjusted to life down there.

"What's up with you?" She asked as Luke started the car and drove onto the highway heading towards Tree Hill.

"Nothing's up with me, why?" He asked turning towards her and she saw the sparkle in his eye.

"You met someone didn't you?" She asked shocked and happy that Luke was meeting new people and getting on with his life.

"Maybe, maybe not." He simply replied and she smacked his arm. "God Brooke abusive much."

"You aren't telling me what I want to know, so spill you know you want to tell me."

"Fine I'll tell you just don't hit me anymore it hurts. Yeah I met someone and before you say anything it's not serious I just met her while getting everything set up at school. We're just friends right now and that's it."

"What's her name, what does she look like, come on Luke give me details." She whined from the back seat and Luke turned towards Nathan for help who just shrugged his shoulders staying out of it.

"Her name is Natalie and she's a very nice girl." Brooke shook her head too tired and worn out to press him.

"You're off the hook for now but trust me when she's had some time to sleep you'll be in for it." Nathan whispered after Brooke had drifted off to sleep.

"So how's school?"

"It's tiring with class, practice, and having a life. I don't know how I handled it in high school." Luke looked at Nathan at laughed.

"You're kidding right? Come on Nate we both know that the teachers at Tree Hill High would have let us get away with anything. We were on the basketball team we could've done nothing and still passed if we felt like it."

"That's not true."

"Do you remember when you guys took the bus and most of the team was suspended except you and some of the other guys?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"God you're really dense you know that?" Nathan shook his head and turned towards the window as they pulled into beach house and Nathan got out picking up Brooke and carrying her in the house before going back to help Luke with their bags. Nathan collapsed on the bed next to Brooke his exhausted from the game the other day and practice after that. He has never worked as hard as he did in practice yesterday and then they had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch their flight. He drifted off to sleep with thoughts of practice running through his head.

Brooke and Nathan slept all through the night and didn't wake up until the next morning. Brooke was the first to wake up and made her way into the bathroom gasping at her reflection in the mirror, she made herself look presentable before going out into the living room incase someone was out there and just like she thought Luke was sitting in the living room while Deb and Karen were making breakfast. "So you know that you still owe me an explanation about this girl right?" Luke shook his head sighing.

"You can meet her at your game on the 28th."

"You talked her into coming with you?"

"Yeah I told her I was going and she said she wanted to meet you and Nathan."

"Sounds like it's getting kind of serious." Luke shook his head no and Brooke went into the kitchen to get some juice. She smiled at Deb and Karen and went to go wake up Nathan. She tapped Luke's head on her way back through the living room smiling at him as he fixed his hair and went back to watching the movie on TV.

Nathan looked up as Brooke came into the room with some juice and slowly forced himself to get up. His whole body ached as sat up, he didn't think he would hurt this much. Brooke just smiled and handed him the juice and aspirin which he took immediately wanting the pain to end. He just wanted to go back to sleep but knew that the rest of the family would be showing up shortly and he would have to socialize with them and his mom wouldn't care if he couldn't move without feeling pain.

"Do you want a message before you're family shows up?" Nathan nodded his head turning on his back. Brooke smiled at ran her hands over Nathan's' back trying to loosen his tense and probably tired muscles. Even her muscles didn't hurt as bad as Nathan's.

After Nathan's massage they got dressed and headed out into the living room ready to put on the happy faces and fake it for the whole family. Nathan looked around at his family and how happy they looked and couldn't help but think of Dan. He didn't know why he was thinking about him so much lately but it seemed like everything reminded him of Dan. He shook his head trying to rid his mind of Dan and at least trying to be happy even though his body was screaming at him to go back to bed.

Brooke put her head on Nathan's shoulder trying not to look tired but felt like she was failing miserably. She needed to sleep for at least 2 more days to be ready for the game on the 28th but knew that she was just going to have to get used to being tired all the time.

By the end of the night after all the family's gifts had been opened Brooke sat with her head on Nathan's shoulder on the couch both trying to stay awake. They smiled as one by one each family member left wishing them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year trying to make things go faster.

Keith shut the door as the last family member left and turned to see Luke, Brooke, and Nathan all fast asleep on the couch while It's a Wonderful Life played on TV. He smiled and threw blankets over all the of them before heading off to bed himself. Christmas was going to be interesting with the surprise he had for them.

A/N: So this was kind of a filler chapter because I needed to update so this should tide you guys over until the next chapter so R&R!


	19. Natalie

Brooke woke up feeling like she had been run over numerous times and then thrown to the wall. Her whole body ached from practice yesterday because they had practiced for nearly 7 hours. There only so many times Brooke can handle being thrown in the air. It was murder on her abs to turn in mid-air and now she was definitely regretting telling Jessica she would do it. She was always the one at the bottom catching the girls which was a lot easier than actually being up there. She remembered all the times she insulted the girls saying it wasn't hard but now she felt that she owed a few apologies. Her foot was definitely in her mouth. She tired to move but her legs wouldn't budge. She looked at the empty side of the bed and sighed, "Of course Nathan has practice when I need him to help me up!" She said to the empty room as she sat there looking around the room trying to find something to help her up when she remembered that Tim was right down the hall. She grabbed Nathan's phone that was sitting on the nightstand and looked for Tim's number.

Tim was sleeping soundly when Brooke called. He had to suppress his laughter because his girlfriend Jessica was sleeping soundly next to him and he didn't want to wake her so he quietly slipped out of bed and over to Nathan's. When he came in he let his laughter loose and doubled over at the sight of Brooke in Nathan's bed. "Tim if you don't help me out of this bed, I will kill you later."

"Alright sorry it's just not every day that Brooke Davis asked you to help her out of bed."

"Yeah well it's your girlfriend's fault. She's the one that had to overwork us yesterday."

"You were the one that wanted to be a cheerleader and this ain't high school anymore. So stop complaining already." Brooke looked at him shocked, his voice was so serious and not joking like usual.

"You really care about her don't you?"

"Yeah I do." He sighed, he didn't want to have this conversation with Brooke Davis a) this early in the morning and b) never. Nathan didn't even know how serious he was about Jessica. "Alright let's get you out of this bed." Brooke nodded and 5 minutes later Brooke was standing at the foot of Nathan's bed. She smiled and kissed Tim's cheek.

"Thank you." He nodded plastering a smile on his face before heading out. She smiled and looked around the room for her stuff. She found her bag and dumped the contents on the bed looking for her aspirin. When she didn't find it she sighed, she didn't want to go back to her dorm so she searched around Nathan's room and didn't find any. Sighing again she threw on her jacket and shoes and made her way through the snow to her room. She shivered as she made her way to her dorm and cursed Nathan for not having aspirin in his dorm. Who played basketball and did not have aspirin in their dorm? She wondered as she made the short walk to her dorm. When she opened the door she did a double take, Luke and some girl were sitting and talking to Kayla. She shook her head and looked again making sure that she wasn't seeing things.

"Brooke you're back!" Kayla exclaimed jumping off her bed and rushing towards Brooke and enveloping her in a tight hug making Brooke wince in pain.

"Uh, Kayla remember practice yesterday I'm in pain."

"Oh sorry Brooke." She giggled making her way to her bed and grabbing her things. "Well I'm off to the library, if you see Jordan tell him where I am?" Brooke nodded and smiled making her way to the aspirin bottle sitting on her desk. She smiled and threw the pills in her mouth glad that soon the pain would subside. She turned back towards her guests and gave Luke a hug.

"Sorry that I wasn't here, you should've called and warned me."

"Um….I did call last night and left a message." She smacked her head and picked up her phone that was also sitting on the desk.

"I knew I was forgetting something when I went over to Nathan's." She said aloud mainly to herself momentarily forgetting that she had company. "Oh sorry, I'm Brooke Davis." She introduced herself to the uneasy girl standing in front of her. The girl looked up and smiled a true smile and extended her hand.

"I'm Natalie."

"It's really nice to meet you Natalie and I'm sorry for being so spacey today. I'm in quite a lot of pain today."

"Why what did you and Nathan do? Wait I don't want to know." Luke joked shaking his head to rid the image that he had put in his mind.

"We didn't do anything, I just stupidly told Jessica that I could do a lot of basket tosses in practice yesterday."

"You're a cheerleader?"

"Yeah, Luke didn't tell you?" Natalie shook her head and both girls looked at Luke.

"What it must've slipped my mind." He threw his hands up in the air and backed away from the girls. "Where's Nathan anyway?" Brooke shook her head, he was always changing the subject.

"He should be on his way back to his dorm and when he notices I'm gone he'll come here."

"How come you didn't have practice today?"

"Because we worked hard enough yesterday." She said as if smacking him in the forehead for even asking a question. "And Jessica's not as Super Bitch since her and Tim started dating."

"Tim? As in Tim from Tree Hill?"

"Yeah I know you're shocked but they've been together for at least 3 months now, I think." Brooke answered tilting her head up and thinking. "Well they met after Nathan I did and we've been together for 3 and half months so I think it's like 2-3 months. I don't know I'll ask Nathan."

"Ask me what?" Nathan asked letting himself in Brooke's dorm. She smiled and got slowly made her way to him and giving him a hug.

"How long have Tim and Jess been together?"

"I didn't know they were still together." Nathan shrugged his shoulders and made his way over to Luke. "Hey Luke." He turned towards Natalie and his eyes widen in surprise. He quickly recovered hoping that nobody saw his surprise. "Hi you must be Natalie." She looked confused but Nathan extended his hand mouthing to play along. He didn't need Brooke asking questions that he wasn't ready to answer. Natalie and Nathan just stood there looking at each other memories flooding back to them while Luke and Brooke looked from Nathan and Natalie and then back at each other trying to figure out what's going on. The wheels in Brooke's head were turning and finally her mind got the best of her so she grabbed her phone and her bag before quickly leaving the room. Nathan was brought out of his trance by Brooke shutting the door behind her. He looked at Luke who just shrugged his shoulders not knowing what was going on. Sighing Nathan went after Brooke preparing to give her the full explanation.

A/N: Okay so the first part of the chapter will come in handy later so call it setting the scene for future chapters...also cliffhanger at the end...how do Nathan and Natalie know each other? Where's Brooke going? R&R and I'll update faster...I hope you enjoy!


	20. Scared

Nathan ran out of Brooke's building looking all around for her when he spotted her running towards the library. Letting out a breath in frustration, he took off trying not to kill himself in the snow running after her. It seemed like whenever something came up she was off running and Nathan just wanted to know why she kept running. He finally caught up with her and gently grabbed her elbow and turning her so she was looking at him.

"Stop running from me." He whispered not trusting his own voice. She just looked at him with no emotion in her eyes. It kinda of scared Nathan that she could turn her own emotions on and off at the drop of a dime. "Please let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain Nathan. It happened in the past correct?"

"Well sorta."

"What do you mean sorta? It either did or didn't happen in the past."

"Do you remember when I told you that I left for the summer shortly after you did?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well I met a girl down there and we hooked up for a couple of weeks before she left to go back to school."

"And that girl happened to be Natalie?" Nathan nodded his head looking anywhere but her, her eyes were so cold and so not Brooke. "You and Luke should go to therapy or something."

"Why?"

"You're always going out with each other's ex's."

"What do you mean?"

"You dated Peyton, he dated Peyton. You slept with Natalie, he's dating her. He dated me and you're dating me." Nathan looked at her and started to laugh.

"Well maybe we just have amazing taste in girls." She looked at him and shook her head not wanting to laugh, she was upset with him right now and laughing would not help. "But seriously why are you always running away from me?"  
"I'm not always running from you." She defended taking a step back from Nathan getting ready to leave again.

"Yes you are. Look at what you're doing right now. Just stop running from me." She looked down realizing that he was right, she was always running from him. Every time something came up she ran like no tomorrow without looking back.

"I'm scared okay? I'm afraid that I'm going to get hurt and I know that you said that you'd never hurt me but things change. Luke said the same thing and look at what he did to me? He didn't even care about my heart and broke it into a million pieces." She looked at him knowing what he was going to say next. "Yes I know that you're not Luke but can you really blame me for being scared?" He sighed and shook his head no.

"But you have to trust me, Brooke. Don't you think that it's hard for me to trust you after what Haley did to me? Did you ever think that I was going through the same thing? That maybe that's why it's easy being with you?"

"No I didn't think about that."

"So see stop running from me. I know what it's like to have your heart crushed into a million pieces. I loved Haley more than anything and it hurt like hell when she left but I came to realize that I deserve better than her and so do you. So just stop and let me be there for you." She looked up at him not knowing what to say. She wasn't used to someone wanting to be there for her.

"I want to let you completely in but it's hard." She whispered looking down at the ground the tears slowly starting to fall.

"No one said it was going to easy and overnight."

"But what if I can never let you in completely?"

"I don't think we have to worry about that." He lifted her chin with his finger and lightly kissed her. "Just don't shut me out and we'll be fine."

"How did I get so lucky?"

"I don't know I ask myself that everyday." She gasped in mild hurt and lightly slapped his shoulder. "Hey be careful with the merchandise."

"There's the Nathan I know!" She exclaimed as they headed back to the dorm. They spent the rest of the afternoon with Luke and Natalie just hanging out like old times before Brooke and Nathan had to go get ready for the game. They shared their pre-game kiss before going to get ready.

It was half-time and The Fighting Illini were up at 5. Nathan was playing the best game of his college career and so was Jordan. Nathan was glad that his family was here to cheer him on along with Brooke. Brooke looked at Luke who gave her thumbs up. She was about to do her first basket-toss in a real game and she was beyond nervous. She just wanted everything to go perfectly. Jesse one of her catchers gave her a reassuring smile that he wouldn't let her fall before thrusting her into the air. She turned on her cheer smile getting her mind set on doing the basket-toss.

Nathan and the team were making their way back onto the court as the cheerleaders were finishing up their half-time performance. He smiled when he saw Brooke with her cheer smile on get ready to do her basket-toss. Her catchers didn't catch her fast enough because she fell to the floor. Nathan's smile fell and he pushed past his teammates and ran to the floor where Brooke was holding her leg and crying.

"Brooke! Brooke!" He called pushing past everyone to get to her. The team doctor was looking at her leg and his assistant wouldn't let him through. "I have to know that she's gonna be okay." Nathan said pleading with the guy to move but he wouldn't budge.

"Nathan." She called out and the doctor stopped the gurney and motioned to Nathan that it was okay.

"Brooke, I'm right here."

"Will you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Win." He nodded his head and looked into the stands.

"Luke, you have to go with her!" Nathan exclaimed afraid to leave her alone.

"You sure?"

"Please I don't want her alone and I'll call to find out where you guys are after the game."

"Alright." Nathan nodded his head and went back to the team. True to Nathan's word they won the game and as soon as the final buzzer rang Nathan was gone after asking Jordan to grab his stuff. He hailed a cab and headed to the hospital hoping that Brooke was alright.

Luke was sitting next to Brooke in the ER waiting for everyone to show up. He looked at Brooke and knew that she was thinking about how to tell Nathan the bad news. Nathan ran in and started looking around for Luke before Luke called his name. "What's wrong?" He asked looking right at Luke since Brooke hadn't noticed he was standing at the foot of her bed.

"I think Brooke should tell you." Luke nudged Brooke and gave her the look that she was dreading. She just shook her head and he made his exit saying something about calling everyone.

"Brooke?"

"I somehow broke my leg and tore my ACL."

"I'm so sorry." He grabbed her hand and wiped at the tears that were falling.

"My life is over Nathan."

"Don't say that. You're life is not over."

"Yes it is Nathan. Cheerleading was my life and now what do I have?"

"You have amazing grades. You have more in life then cheerleading. It's not like you'll never be able to cheer again."

"What if I can't?"

"Then you can't it doesn't change who you are or who loves you. I'm not going to think any less of you because you can't cheer. I love you whether or a cheerleader or not." He leaned forward and gently kissed her wiping away the newly fallen tears. He pulled away and saw the doctor standing in front of them.

"Hello Brooke I'm Dr. Nelson."

"Hi, this is Nathan."

"Nice to meet you."

"So I guess I have to be the bearer of bad news in a way. I assume you were told about your leg so with that I hate to tell you but you won't be cheering for the rest of the season. We're going to have to go in and repair the tear in your ACL and then after that you'll start physical therapy for 2-3 months and hopefully by then you'll be ready to cheer next year." He finished and Brooke was crying again. 'The rest of the season?!' She thought to herself as she sat there clutching onto Nathan's hand like it was her only lifeline and that if she let go she would lose everything.

"When do you plan on operating?" Nathan asked knowing that Brooke wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"As soon as possible is what we would like but I understand if you want to get a second opinion."

"No I want to operate as soon as possible." Brooke said as soon as the words second opinion was said.

"Alright I'll go see when we can get you in the surgery."

"Brooke are you sure about this?"

"I don't want to go to another doctor and have him say the same thing to me. So why not just get it over with?"

"If it's what you want, I'm here for you."

"Does that mean you're going to help take care of me?"

"Of course we'll figure it all out. Now get some rest." He ran his fingers through her hair as she drifted off to sleep. It had been a hell of a day.

A/N: So Brooke has to have surgery…………….and if you've ever broken your leg or hurt your knee like I have then you know how to feels…..but don't worry the next chapter will great I promise! So R&R!


	21. The hospital

Nathan sat in the waiting room of the hospital while Brooke was in surgery. He couldn't believe that she was one that had gotten hurt because if anything he would've gotten hurt with how much people were always after him. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair for the millionth time in the last 20 minutes. He put his head in his hands and waited for Brooke to get out of surgery. He lifted his head and glanced at the clock, it was 6:30 in the morning he'd been here since almost 11 and boy was he tired but he promised that he would be here when she got out of surgery.

He rubbed his hand over his face and stood up stretching his achy body. The game last night had been murdered and sitting in the crap plastic chair for almost 2 hours wasn't helping. Finally he saw the doctor making his way down the hall towards him and Nathan decided to meet half-way. "How is she?"

"She's doing fine, surgery went fantastic and now she's just sleeping. Now I'll be back later after she's had time to sleep and recover to discuss physical therapy and other things." Nathan shook his head shaking the doctor's hand before heading back to Brooke's room. Maybe he could catch some sleep while waiting for Brooke to wake up. He smiled at the thought of sleep and pulled the chair right next to Brooke's bed. He laid his head on the bed right by her hand before drifting off to sleep.

Brooke woke up with slight pain in her knee. She looked around the room disoriented for a moment as to what was happening but then last night came rushing back to her. She looked down at her leg and saw it all wrapped up and propped up. She couldn't believe that she wouldn't be able to cheer till next season if she was able to cheer at all that is. She smiled when she looked up and saw Deb, Keith, Luke and Natalie coming in with flowers and candy.

"Hey Brooke how are you?" Deb asked a little loud waking Nathan up. He looked at Brooke and his family before shaking his head muttering obscenities under his breath. Brooke just laughed and rubbed his arm.

"I'm doing okay, I feel a little pain and trying to get used to not being able to cheer till next year if at all."

"Oh honey I'm sorry but I do have good news."

"You brought me some real food?"

"No I got a call from the dean this morning and you can take as much time as you need before going back. They don't want you suffering in the least bit so you'll just work from home."

"From home?"

"Oh I'm sorry from your dorm."

"Oh I guess that'll be okay."

"Don't worry about anything Brooke, you'll have all of us at your beck and call."

"I know it's just going to be weird not having cheerleading or work outs anymore. I'm gonna have so much free time to do whatever I want."

"Yeah it'll be great." Nathan added squeezing her thigh gently to reassure her. She just shook her head trying to clear her mind of all the scared and unsure thoughts running through her head. She didn't know if he would understand what was going through her mind. "What's wrong?" He asked noticing her facial expression changing every so often.

"I just have a lot on my mind."

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked sitting up straighter in the chair. He was getting worried about her by the tone of her voice. She just shrugged her shoulders memories of the beach house playing over and over in her mind. She wondered if Nathan ever told anyone about their little meetings in the beach house.

"Did you ever tell anyone about the beach house?" He looked up at her confused as to where her question came from. They barely talked about the beach house not since Keith was in the hospital.

"What do you mean by telling people?"

"I mean did you ever tell people that we would hang out in the beach house?"

"Yeah I told one person."

"Really who?"

"My dad." He whispered softly and Brooke turned her head from staring at the door to look at him. Nathan hardly ever let his emotions run wild, he was always so distant and hid behind the wall he set up.

"Did you tell anybody else?"

"No, nobody would understand what went on in that house. They would just think that we were hooking up with each other and all that drama that I really didn't need. Plus I didn't think that people had to know. I mean who cares who's talking to whom? I sure didn't." Brooke nodded and turned back towards the door. She was hoping that her parents would come bursting through the doors and ask her a million questions about what happened. She wanted her parents to be worried about her. "I called them."

"What?"

"I called your parents and got both their voicemails. I explained in detail what happened and even where to reach you."

"Why?"

"I thought that you would have wanted them to know." He replied defensively ready to put his guard back up.

"No, I really appreciate it Nathan." She replied moving over and patting the spot next to her. He climbed in and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you Nathan."

"I love you too Brooke." She smiled and fell asleep wrapped in his arms. Things were good for now.

A/N: So that was a filler chapter to tide you over till the next chapter……….R&R!


	22. It Ends Tonight

Nathan walked out onto the court the noise from the crowd overtaking his thoughts overpowering his senses. All he can see out of the sea of orange and blue is Brooke. He knew how hard it was for her to come to game after the accident. He smiled at her and walked over to the rest of the team. It was going to be a great game, the Illini were undefeated and were going to try and keep it that way. Nathan and Jordan were going to play their hardest to win not for themselves for Brooke. She's been through hell the past couple of weeks with surgery, physical therapy, and trying to keep up in her classes they were going to win for her.

The referee threw the ball up into the air and Nathan slapped it towards Jordan who took off running down the crowd faking a slam dunk and firing the ball back towards Nathan who scored a 3-pointer. The crowd went wild and Brooke stood up the best she could in her brace clapping for her boys. She looked down at the cheerleaders and caught Kayla's attention. She winked and threw her pom -poms in the air smiling her best cheer smile. Brooke laughed at Kayla's impression of her and went back t watching the game a prang of jealously in the pit of her stomach. 'I'm not going to get upset this is Nathans' game.' She thought to herself as she and Tim watched the game.

At the half the Illini were up at 5 and feeling pretty good about the game so far. Nathan and Jordan were playing the game of their lives and feeling like they were untouchable. During the 3rd quarter Jordan got fouled out so it was up to Nathan and the guys to keep the streak alive. The score was now 48-52 and Nathan was sitting on the bench to take a break from playing most of the game. He squirmed in his seat wanting to get back on the court and win the game, he hated just sitting by and watching his team lose. He couldn't handle it, he had to be out there. The coach looked over at Nathan and at the scoreboard and put him back in hoping to get some points on the board and close the 48-60 gap the team was trying to fill.

Nathan got the ball and took off the court throwing the ball from a good 3-point distance and watched as the rest of the world faded away and he could only see the basketball and the net. He watched as it made its way to the net but bounced off the rim and fly to another player. As his mind refocused he hoped that one of his teammates caught the ball but soon realized that the other team now had the ball. He took off towards the player trying to get to him before he shot the ball and right as Nathan reached the player he fired the ball toward the hoop and Nathan saw the whole season flash before his eyes.

His first game, his first basket in college ball, the celebration he and Brooke had after the game, Keith smiling at him from in the stands proud of Nathan, and the feeling of being on top of the world from helping in his team's victory. He could now feel the world coming down around him. He could feel the ball going into the basket and the crowd of Iowa fans erupting and the final buzzer ringing. He couldn't tear his eyes off the basket that the ball just went through. It was over, they were no longer undefeated. Nathan felt as if he just lost the most important thing in the world.

Brooke watched from the stands as Nathan seemed to be lost in his own world. She knew that this was going to be hard on him because he put so much effort into winning the game for her like he promised before they got on the bus to come down here. She stood up and hoppled her way over to him. She knew that the whole team was going to be taking it rough and she hoped that maybe she could cheer them up. She had decided during the game that even though she couldn't cheer anymore she was still going to be on the team no matter what she had to do. She reached Nathan and lightly nudged him bringing him back to reality. "Hey." She whispered looking deep into his eyes seeing the hurt and confusion swirling in his eyes. "It's okay; you played the best you could. You played your best game." She sighed when he didn't answer her and went to get Jordan to lead him back to the locker room. She watched as the two slowly made their way back to the locker room to get dressed and get back on the bus. She looked around her at the students and parents here to see the game and felt as if someone had just died by the way they were all moping around and slowly leaving the stadium.

This was worst than a lose back in Tree Hill, this was as if someone like the college president had died. She felt sad that they had lost and she now realized how different high school basketball and college basketball were. College basketball was a whole different story, it was more intense and more involved. She knew how it was to be a cheerleader and having everyone watching you and cheering the team on along with you. Every time she stepped out onto the court she was performing and she loved every second of it. She knew that Nathan loved it as well almost as more than he loved playing for Tree Hill but it was understandable because in college Nathan was known as Nathan Scott not Nathan Scott Dan Scott's son. Sighing she made her way with Kayla towards the locker room to wait for Nathan. It was going to be a long ride home.

The whole team and cheerleaders sat silently on the bus watching the stadium slipping from view their winning streak locked within that stadium, Nathan watched with sad eyes as everything he's worked off now not seeming like it was worth much. It was if everything he did was just for the hell of it and it made Nathan feel even worse. He sighed and laid his head against the window hoping that the cool temperature from the window would make his feel numb and for now it was working. He drifted off the sleep with the announcer's words repeating over in his head, "It ends tonight."


	23. Random Sudden Memory

Nathan looked at Brooke has she slept in her hospital bed. For some reason he all of a sudden thought of the last time he saw Brooke after graduation.

_Flashback_

Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, Haley, Brooke, and Mouth all stood in a line holding onto each other smiling as they posed for a group photo after graduation. They laughed as they held up their diplomas happy and relieved to finally be done with high school. Everyone was excited to spend the summer together before going off their separate ways for college and post high school stuff. Peyton and Lucas were just going to hang out for awhile, Nathan was going to college, Haley was working on her music, Mouth was heading out to L.A. for an internship with a studio, and none of the group knew what Brooke was doing. She didn't feel the need to tell anyone because it was her business plus she hadn't really been much of anything since finding out Peyton and Lucas.

The group broke up after hugging and promising to meet up at Tim's party before going off to find family and Brooke just stood there not having any family to go to. She sighed and walked off feeling the tears well up in her eyes and once she was in her car she let them lose. Nathan watched her walk off and thought that she was going to meet her family not thinking that he wouldn't see her later that night at the party.

That night at the party everybody was celebrating and having fun kicking off the summer but one person was missing. Nathan looked around and knew that something wasn't right, finally realizing that Brooke wasn't there. He turned towards Peyton who had a concerned look on her face and both decided to split up and try to find her. "Where do you think she might be?" Nathan asked as they walked out the front door of Tim's house.

"She was really depressed that her parents weren't there today so she could be anywhere." Nathan instantly felt bad for not going after Brooke earlier after graduation to make sure she was alright, sure they weren't the best of friends but they were still friends and he still cared about her. He knew that the news of Lucas and Peyton was hard for her but she was still Brooke Davis and she wasn't about to let someone ruin her party mood.

Nathan watched Peyton turn left and get into her car going off towards Brooke's house while he waited for her to vanish from his sight he had an idea where Brooke would be. Getting in his car he took off toward his beach house hoping that she was there safe and not about to do something stupid. He pulled into the beach house and ran into the house turning on every light in the house. Nathan stopped right before the last room in the house hoping that she was in there. He opened the door and went to flip on the light when he saw her sitting by the window crying and clutching her iPod to her for dear life. Nathan sighed and slowly made his way over to her afraid that she was going to run.

"Hey." He whispered sitting down in front of her gently wiping at the tears that were falling. He hated to see her crying, it always made him so angry that someone could hurt someone as great as Brooke. She looked up shutting her iPod off and removing the headphones from her ears.

"Leave me alone Nate, I just want to be left alone." She turned away from him pushing his hands away from her face. She didn't want him to see her like this, sure they had become somewhat good friends but that was only when no one was around. In school they still acted like they knew each other but didn't _know _each other and to be honest that hurt Brooke. To her it meant that he was ashamed of being her friend just like her parents were ashamed to be her parents. Thinking of her parents made her eyes water all over again. They didn't even bother to call to say congratulations for graduating in the top half of her class.

"I'm not going to leave you alone Brooke. You're my friend and you need me so I'm not going anywhere." Brooke scoffed and stood up her sadness being run over by her anger.

"I'm your friend? Really I couldn't have guessed because you hardly show it, the only time I actually feel like you friend is in this damn house! To me that isn't what a friend does. So don't even dare give me that shit about being your friend Nathan. Luke, Haley, and Peyton are your friends not me. It's like the same way you treated Tim for the longest time Nathan. So you can have your damn friendship because I certainly don't want it." She grabbed her stuff and walked out of the room leaving Nathan stunned. He didn't think that not talking to her in school would have hurt that much. Shaking his head he stood up and went after her. By the time he reached her she was already gone and Nathan sighed before getting in the car and going back to the party her words playing over in his head.

The next morning Peyton arrived at Nathan's apartment and knocked on the door expecting to see Haley's bright and smiley face open the door and let her in but it was a very upset and pissed off Nathan that opened the door. She looked around the apartment and saw no trace of Haley anywhere in the apartment and his ring sitting on the counter next to an open bottle of Jack Daniels. Peyton sighed thinking that she should've gone and told Luke about Brooke first.

"Nate, what's going on?" She asked her curiousity getting to her.

"Haley left with Chris this morning, it's over Peyton."

"Oh."

"So if you're here to see Haley you might find her at the hotel Chris is staying at."

"Actually I was here to tell you guys something."

"What you and Luke are running off to get married?"

"No it's about Brooke." Nathan instantly looked from the glass in front of him worry and concern written all over his face.

"What about her?" He asked hoping that nothing bad had happened to her after she left the beach house last night. He knew he should've gone after her but no he had to be a jackass and just leave her alone. 'Great way to show you care Nathan.' He silently told himself.

"She's gone."

"What?"

"She left this morning, I went to her house this morning and the house was unlocked so I went in and found all of her stuff gone. It's all my fault." Peyton cried a new wave of tears washing over her. Nathan sighed and pulled her into a hug. He knew that it wasn't all Peyton's fault that Brooke left; it was partly his and partly Luke's.

"It's no t all your fault Peyton. Maybe she just needed to get away for awhile." He reasoned hoping to make her feel a little better.

"Yeah you're probably right, I guess I should go tell Luke. I'll see you later Nathan." He nodded and watched her walk to the door.

"First Haley leaves and then Brooke leaves this is going to be a great summer." Nathan said to the empty apartment as he walked over to the small kitchen and poured more Jack Daniels into his now empty glass. "I just wish that the last time I saw Brooke would've been better. Well I guess you're my new best friend Jack." Nathan said to the bottle in front of him.

_Flashback_

Nathan sat on the bed next to Brooke and gently pushed a loose piece of her hair behind her ears. They'd come so far over the past 6 months and Nathan didn't know how he would've made it through it without Brooke, his girlfriend and best friend by his side. He kissed her temple and went over to his desk to start his homework before going to practice shaking the horrible memory from his mind.


	24. Chinese reminder

Brooke sat with her knee propped up in her bed typing furiously on her lap-top. She only had half a page left for her paper and she had to finish it before Nathan went to practice so he could turn it in for it. It had been a rough 2 weeks since her accident because she hated being copped up in bed all day every day. She smiled in triumph when she finished the last sentence of her paper and printed it off. She turned to her side and grabbed her paper from the printer that was next to her on the little table. She had quite the set up so she could do her homework, heat up food, and even make coffee without even having to get up.

She was just happy that the doctor said that she could probably go back to class in another week and Brooke was glad that she would be able to get out of bed and do things for herself. She put her paper in the report cover and smiled as she looked over it. It had taken her less time then she thought it would but now she had time to just surf the net. She checked the email and smiled when she saw one from Peyton.

Brooke looked up from her email and smiled when she saw Nathan come in. She leaned up and kissed him as he handed her a bag of take out from her new favorite Chinese restaurant. "Oh Nathan you didn't have to." She gushed kissing him again as he leaned down to pick up her laptop so he could sit and eat with her.

"I wanted to. Man for some reason this reminds me of that weekend we spent at the beach house after the disaster or prom."

"Yeah that night proved that Peyton really cared about me."

"Why because she wrote on your dress?"

"Yep. Even though Peyton was mad at me you had to admit that she put a lot of effort into getting back at me." Nathan just shook his head.

"You didn't think that later on that night after the party. If I remember correctly you were crying and telling me how ugly she looked in her dress and how Luke looked like an ass."

"I was drunk! And you should be one to talk you kept telling me how much Haley was hurting you by leading you on and not being exclusive with you and now mad it made you to watch her and Luke dance."

"Hey, I had deep feelings for her can you blame me?"

"No but you're making fun of me when you were just as bad."

"Whatever Davis, it was a good senior prom though."

"Yeah I had so much fun with Mouth and them. It kinda sucked that we didn't get to dance though."

"That was all Haley's fault, she didn't want me near you. She said that if I danced with you it just proved that I hadn't changed at all."

"What?"

"Yeah, she was all Team Peyton that night ya know since she and Luke were so tight. All night they kept talking about you and how much of a bitch you were."

"That bitch."

"But Luke did say that they should let it go because it was Prom."

"Well at least someone stuck up for me." She said looking at Nathan.

"Hey! I was thinking it, I just didn't say it."

"You were such a wuss."

"In my defense I was stupidly trying to get back together with Haley, so you can't hold it over my head. I was falsely led into thinking that she wanted to get back together."

"All you had to say was what Luke said. You didn't have to say that I was a kind, caring, and sensitive, not to mention hot person." Nathan looked at her over the carton he was holding and laughed.

"Alright I'm sorry for not saying that you were a kind, caring, and sensitive, not to mention hot person." Brooke looked at him and flung a chopstick at him. "What was that for?"

"For mocking me."

"Ah but you still love me."

"Yeah it's like a stray dog, no matter what I do it won't go away." He smiled and leaned over gently kissing her.

"I'm glad to be your stray dog."

"You're so cheesy." She joked pushing him away as she tried not to laugh.

"I know." He looked up at the clock and frowned. An hour had already flown by and he had to get to practice. "Damn, I have to go to practice."

"Hey could you turn in my paper on the way?"

"Sure, do you want to stay in my room tonight?"

"Um…..yeah a change of scenery would be nice."

"Alright I'll call Tim and see if he'll come help you over to my room."

"Thanks Nate."

"Anytime." He replied leaning down and kissing her passionately. "Love you."

"Love you too." She replied kissing him again before he left leaving her to think about Prom.

A/N: So there's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.


	25. Tired

Brooke sat in her dorm room looking out her window, the sun was shining and everyone was making their way around the courtyard. She wished so badly that she was out there but her stupid injury forced her to stay inside since she was still in her brace and she hated it. She just wanted things to go back to normal, she wanted to be able to do things by herself but most of all she didn't want to have to depend on people to help her do things.

She knew that Nathan was trying his best and she felt bad for always having to rely on him for things that she should be able to do herself. She could tell that Nathan was always tired from having practice, school, and taking care of her. She sighed and looked at the clock, she had to be at physical therapy in 45 minutes and no one was around to take her. Slamming her fist down on her desk she struggled to get up and grabbed the cane the doctor had given her. She limped her way over to the door and out of the building almost falling once or twice.

Brooke was making her way through the courtyard when she stumbled and almost fell. She prepared herself to hit the ground but when she didn't hit the ground she slowly opened her eyes. She came face to face with Jordan who had a scared look on his face. She let out the breath that she was holding and let Jordan help her stand up. Jordan had become like her brother over the past 8 months.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go to physical therapy and no one was around to help me so I did it myself."

"Brooke you know how dangerous it is you could've hurt yourself." He replied sternly taking moment to look over her body. She knew what he was referring to but she wasn't going to announce it in front of everybody.

"It takes almost 30 minutes to get there so I have to leave now." He shook his head at her stubbornness and just stood there starring at her.

"Someone's going with you, no matter what you say or do to try and change my mind."

"Who might that be? Nathan? You? Kayla? Jessica? They all have practice and Tim has class so tell me who does that leave me?" Jordan looked at her and at his phone for a moment wondering who in deed could go with her.

"Screw it I'm going with you."

"Jordan you have practice."

"Eh it's just a work out, plus I'll just talk to Andrew, he'll smooth things over with the coach."

"No, Jordan go." She pulled her arm out of his grasp and started limping towards the waiting cab. Jordan shook his head and ran slipping into the cab with her.

"Don't tell me what to do Davis." He warned and told the cabbie to go.

Jordan watched as Brooke struggled to move her leg without the brace on, he wanted so bad to go in there and help but he knew that it would only piss her off. He could see the tears of frustration start to well up in her eyes and he just sighed falling back against the plastic chair. He had no idea what Brooke was going through with everything and her little secret that she had confessed to him over a month ago.

Finally Brooke was getting somewhere in physical therapy. After getting pissed and throwing her cane across the room she made herself walk a little bit without her brace on. The pain wasn't as strong as it usually was but Brooke didn't care, she had just walked almost a 3 feet! She smiled and clapped her hands together like an excited 2 year old that just got her first Barbie car.

Jordan smiled and hugged her happy that she was finally getting somewhere after about 2 months of therapy. Brooke looked at Jordan; she hated the fact that she was hiding herself behind the mask. She had promised that she wasn't going to hide anymore but ever since she hurt her knee she couldn't help but plaster on the fake smile every time someone was around. She kissed Jordan's cheek after he helped her to her dorm room and watched him leave before shutting the door and letting out a long sigh her shoulders slumping. She was tired of having to pretend that everything was okay, she was tired of making everyone believe that everything was okay.

She struggled over to her bed and threw herself on it feeling the stress of the day wash over her. Maybe Nathan could cheer her up, she thought but sighed when she realized that Nathan had class after practice so the earliest she could see him was later on around midnight and he was probably going to be tired so she scraped that idea. Kayla! She thought but no Kayla and Jordan were going out tonight to celebrate their anniversary. Jessica was probably with Tim so that left her alone again. She sighed and decided to call Peyton; she hadn't talked to her in a couple of days so maybe that would make her feel better. She picked up the phone a small smile on her face and dialed Peyton's number. "Hey you've reached Peyton's cell, leave me a message and I'll get back to you!" Brooke's smile faded as she hung up the phone and decided that she should just go to sleep and maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

Brooke woke up and looked around the room. Nathan was sitting at her desk typing furiously away. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Nathan looked up at the sound of Brooke's bed creaking. "Nathan, what are you doing here at," She paused and looked at the clock next to her bed. "3:45 in the morning?"

"Kayla and Jordan are going at it in my room and so I came over here but you were sleeping so I just started working on my paper."

"Oh, aren't you tired?" She asked suddenly worried about him. Nathan smiled and shook his head.

"Nope I'm on the 3rd cup of coffee, so I'm wide awake. How was physical therapy today?" Nathan asked knowing that she had walked a little bit in physical therapy.

"Oh! I walked Nathan; I walked without my brace for almost 3 feet! You should've seen me, it was so awesome!" Nathan smiled yet again and made his way over to her lightly kissing her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there but I promise, I'll be there next time I already cleared it with coach." Brooke looked at him wondering if Jordan told him her little secret.

"Nathan you can't skip practice."

"Yes I can."

"No Nathan you can't skip practice just because of me. What happens when you actually can't go to practice and coach won't let you skip it, huh? Then what's going to happen?"

"What's wrong?"

"I just don't want you skipping practice because of me. I mean it's not that important."

"Yes it is to me."

"Well what if I don't want you there?"

"What?!" Nathan exclaimed standing up outraged, what the hell was she saying.

"You have so many other things to worry about that you don't need to worry about helping me."

"I don't worry about helping you. I like helping you." Brooke looked at him and scoffed.

"Yeah okay." She replied. Nathan looked at her as if she grew 3 heads.

"What is wrong with you? I mean you're attacking me for no reason."

"I'm not attacking you. I'm just telling you that you don't need to take care of me all the time."

"Who else is going to?"

"Oh so now I'm a burden, fine I'm done." She replied throwing her hands up in the air.

"Done with what?"

"You!"

"Brooke."

"No Nathan just go. Go have the best freshman year of your life without having to worry about me."

"Brooke."

"Get out!" She screamed pushing him away from her. He sighed and packed up his stuff and left shaking his head. He walked back to his dorm and barged in not caring if Kayla and Jordan were still at it or not. Jordan looked up when Nathan barged in a pissed off look on his face and slid out of bed slowly walking over towards him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just leave me the hell alone." Nathan barked throwing his backpack on his bed and grabbing his iPod.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." He barked opening the door and slamming it behind him making Kayla jump up from the loud sudden noise.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I think Brooke just broke up with Nathan."

"WHAT?!" Kayla screamed jumping up out of bed and throwing on her clothes. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"She's pregnant." Kayla stopped her shoe midway on her foot.

"What?"

"She's pregnant, she found out a month ago and she's afraid Nathan will leave her like his dad did to his brother's mom." Kayla sighed and pulled on her shoe.

"I'll talk to her." Jordan nodded and gave his girlfriend a kiss as she left the room preparing to beat some sense into her dumb roommate.

Kayla stormed into the room and found Brooke sitting on her bed silently sobbing and for a moment she felt like wrapping her arms around her and telling her that everything would be okay but that only lasted for a moment, she was going to cure Brooke's temporary insanity. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why on earth would you break up with Nathan over something like you're pregnant?!" Kayla quietly yelled not wanting their neighbors to hear Brooke's personal business.

"I'm scared okay? I don't know if he's going to be like his father and leave me or actually stay with me and I don't want to find out."

"Brooke, sweetie, from what I know about Nathan which isn't much he's crazy about you. He wants to be with you. When you fell at the game I saw tears in that boy's eyes. You don't know how hard it was for him to stay at the game instead of going with you and after the game he didn't even go into the locker room. We had to convince him to take a shower at the hospital because he went from the game to the hospital. I guess what I'm saying is that you and Nathan were meant for each other. You need to talk to him." Brooke looked at her roommate and nodded her head.

"I hate it when you're right." Kayla smiled and wrapped her arms around Brooke.

"I love it." Brooke laughed a little bit and returned the hug. "Alright so you're going to go back to sleep and I'll have Nathan come by in the morning before his class, okay?"

"Yeah." Brooke smiled and slid back into bed falling asleep the second her head hit the pillow. The next morning Brooke woke up ready to face Nathan and smiled when she heard her dorm room door open. She turned ready to face Nathan. "Hey Na….Peyton?"


	26. We'll Be Together

"Peyton? What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as her best friend came into her room with a certain brunette boy in toe. Peyton's smile faded a little bit when she saw the brace on Brooke's leg.

"What happened? Why didn't anyone call me?"

"I fell during a game and broke my leg and tore my ACL in the process. I thought Nathan called you?"

"Speaking of the younger Scott where is he?"

"We broke up." Peyton looked at her shocked that the golden couple broke up.

"Where is he? I'm gonna kick his ass."

"I broke up with him."

"Why?"

"I'm pregnant." Peyton nodded her head knowing that she was scared. Brooke looked up and finally noticed Jake standing in the doorway. "Jake? What are you doing here?" Jake looked up and smiled hoping to put a smile on his friends face.

"Um….we kinda got married." Peyton admitted preparing for Brooke to blow up at her.

"I guess we're even then." Peyton looked up confused. "I hurt myself and didn't tell you and you got married without telling me." Peyton laughed a little and wrapped her arm around Brooke. "You hurt her and I'll kill you." Jake nodded his head and made his way toward her and gave her a hug.

"You should really tell Nathan."

"Tell Nathan what?" Nathan asked standing in the doorway looking between Peyton, Brooke, and Jake confused. His eyes finally settled on Brooke and something just wasn't right.

"Jake and I got married." Peyton blurted out distracting Nathan from Brooke for a moment.

"Wow, congratulations." He looked at Jake and they nodded their heads in acknowledgment and Nathan yet again looked to Brooke. Brooke looked up and met his gaze he looked at the clock next to her bed and sighed, he had to get to class.

"Hey Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you stop by after your class I kinda have to talk to you?"

"I'll stop by after practice if that's okay?" She nodded and looked back to the ground. "Alright I guess I'll see you guys later." Jake and Peyton nodded saying goodbye as he left for class.

"Well now what?" Jake asked after moments of silence passed between the group.

"Let's go somewhere." Peyton suggested hoping to take her mind of her problems with Nathan. She knew how hard it was going to be for Brooke to tell Nathan that she was pregnant, since how hard it was for her to tell Luke that she might be. Luke, she hadn't thought about Luke since the week after she left. She wondered how he was doing, if he was seeing anyone, and basically if he was happy. Brooke looked at Peyton and wondered if she was thinking about Luke and wondered if she knew about Natalie and how happy he was.

"Alright where are we going?"

"Somewhere to eat I'm starving."

"You just ate before we left." Jake replied from Brooke's desk where he was looking through all the pictures Brooke had on her computer. Brooke laughed and looked up when she heard her dorm door open.

"Jordan!" She exclaimed standing up and wobbling over to him giving him a hug.

"You're in a better mood."

"Yeah now that my best friend and her hubby are in town and I'm talking to Nathan after practice." She said the last part in a whisper and Jordan just nodded her head.

"Well since you have company I don't have to worry about you, I'll head out to let you guys catch up."

"No! You should come to breakfast with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I want you to come with us. Plus I won't feel like the third wheel." She whispered making Jordan laugh. He nodded giving in to her Brooke Davis smile and helped her over to her bed making sure she didn't fall. Peyton watched Jordan help Brooke and smiled, it was good that she had someone besides Nathan to check up on her and someone to watch out for her. Jordan turned away from Brooke and walked over to her dresser.

"What do you feel like wearing Princess?"

"Um…how about my pink Illinois shirt and the jeans hanging out of the drawer?" Jordan nodded and grabbed the items gently tossing them on the bed next to her before grabbing her makeup bag and tennis shoes. Peyton watched in amazed at how well Jordan knew Brooke and knew exactly what she wanted. Jordan saw the girl in curls looking at him with a weird look in her eye and he felt that he needed to explain.

"I usually have afternoon classes so I help Brooke get ready since her roommate Kayla has morning classes." Peyton nodded and looked at Jake who was just as amazed.

"Oh Peyton this is Jordan, Jordan this is Peyton and her husband Jake." Jordan nodded and Jake did the same.

"It's really nice to meet both of you." Brooke finished getting ready and put on some light makeup before standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Well are we going?" All three nodded and walked to the door with Jordan staying by Brooke's side.

"So have you talked to Nathan yet?"

"He stopped by and I guess I'll see him after practice."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No I was going to sit there and just stare at him. Of course I'm going to tell him or at least try to tell him. I still don't know how he's going to react."

"He's not going to pull a Dan Brooke, you of all people should know that." Peyton replied turning her head so she was facing Brooke.

"How do you know that Peyton?"

"Because based on what I know about the Scott boys, Luke would be the one to leave not Nathan. Not that Luke would do it but based on what he said when you had your 'scare' that's where his Dan like tendencies come out." Brooke shook her head knowing that Peyton was somewhat right.

"Okay can we not talk about the past because it's not fair to Jordan who probably has no idea what you're talking about so let's talk about something we have in common?" Jake offered as they sat in the restaurant after listening to Brooke and Peyton talk about the differences between Luke and Nathan. Jordan shook his head agreeing with Jake because he didn't want to have to sit through another moment of the Scott Boys, which one is like their father. Brooke smiled and squeezed Jordan's arm in a silent form of apology.

"Alright let's talk about how Jordan survives living with Nathan 24/7." Peyton said smiling at the blank look on Jordan's face.

"Well he has his asshole days, his cheese-ball days, his 'my girlfriend is my life' days, and his 'I didn't shower after practice because I'm too tired' days. He doesn't like to clean his half the room most days but does it when Brooke's spending the night, he's always staying up all night working on his homework or writing his papers, he loses all his stuff but can find something of Brooke's in the blink of an eye. Um….he's not happy when things don't go his way."

"That last part sounds like Nathan Scott." Jake joked thinking back on the days when Nathan was the captain of the basketball team. Brooke just nodded her head and smiled she didn't really have anything bad to say about Nathan at least not that she remembered.

After they had finished eating Peyton and Jake went back to their hotel while Brooke and Jordan went back to her dorm. She was happy to go back to her dorm because at least for a couple of hours Brooke wouldn't think about Nathan since she had a paper to write and a book to read for her English class then she had to go take a test in her math class. She really loved school at the moment.

Jordan left Brooke to work promising to come help her to their math class so she wouldn't have to do it alone and Brooke sat in front of her computer only to stare at the blank screen for over an hour before she grew frustrated and pushed herself away from her desk and sat in the middle of her room just starring at the walls around her. Jordan walked in and watched as Brooke gently spun herself around muttering something about how stupid she was and how could she not talk to Nathan about it. Jordan cleared his throat stopping Brooke mid-spin, she turned her head and shook her head indicating that she didn't want to talk about it at the moment and stood up grabbing her backpack and walking with Jordan to her math class.

Nathan sat in the library trying to finish the chapter in his book which he was finding incredibly difficult since he couldn't get his mind off of what Brooke wanted to talk to him about. She had already made it painfully obvious that she didn't want to be with him so the only thing she could have to talk about would be giving him his stuff back which Nathan didn't know if he could handle that, not after her breaking up with him. After all that they've been through she just wanted to end it because she was tired of him wanting to be there for her which at first she didn't mind but all of a sudden she wanted to push him away like he had the plaque or something.

Nathan sighed and pushed his chair away from the table and throwing his stuff in his bag deciding that maybe a pre-practice run would clear his head so he could focus on getting his work done before his class tomorrow. Brooke and Jordan passed Nathan on their way back on class. Nathan stopped and said hello and just looked at Brooke. She smiled and gave him a hug, Nathan smiled and wrapped his arms around her smiling into her hair. She pulled away and nodded her head before continuing on her way to her dorm. Jordan and Nathan exchanged glances as he caught up with her helping her back to her dorm. It was step in the right direction.

Brooke looked at the clock then back to her laptop, she had written at least 2 pages in the last hour and she hoped that Nathan would be done with practice soon; with each passing minute she seemed to lose her confidence. She went to pick up her phone when it buzzed indicating she had a text message, she hesitantly opened her phone and sighed in relief when she saw that it was only Kayla giving her a heads up about Nathan heading over to her dorm. She nodded her head and stood up wobbling over to her bed.

Nathan stopped in front of Brooke's room suddenly nervous about what she had to talk to him about. Jordan had been no help when he said that it wasn't his news to share and that he would just have to wait until he talked to her and Kayla just said that it was a valid reason for ending it with Nathan which just confused him even more so here he was about to walk in and talk to Brooke and he had no idea what was going on. Nathan fixed the strap of his bag on his shoulder and took a deep breath before grabbing the door handle and opening the door. Brooke looked up when Nathan walked and motioned for him to join her on her bed. He nodded and set his bag down on the floor next to her dusty bag and walked over to her bed sitting on the bed and facing her.

"What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you and it's really hard for me to say so just listen to me, okay?" Nathan shook his head reaching for her hand. She sighed and settled her gaze on the floor she didn't think she could handle looking him in the eye. "Okay so I guess you're wondering why I broke up with you so suddenly but I'm scared because I'm pregnant." She ranted all in one breath. Nathan shook his head intently listening until the last part when his head stopped mid shake and he lifted his gaze from her hand and settled on her now glistening eyes. Brooke saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes and knew that she was probably going to be alone in raising her baby. "You don't have to help me, I'm okay with handling it by myself but I just wanted you to know." She explained standing up and removing her hand from his. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing now and silently sobbed in the middle of her room. Nathan sat in shook after what she had just told him when her last statement finally sunk in.

"So wait you broke up with me because you're pregnant?" Brooke turned facing him with tears streaming down her face and nodded her head her voice long gone. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She looked down and wiped at the tears that were falling, Nathan stood and made his way over to her lightly grabbing her by the shoulders. "I'm surprised to say the least. Not in a bad way though."

"What?" She finally managed to croak out.

"I'm not going anywhere and I'm a little hurt that you think I wouldn't be there for you."

"Well given your family what was I supposed to think?"

"Your dad, your brother, you all the same blood line."

"My brother?"

"He never told you?"

"Told me what?""I had a scare during junior year and when I told him he basically pulled a Dan on me." Nathan looked at her and finally it all clicked.

"Hey I told you I was here for you no matter what, knee injuries, pregnancy; you name it I'll be there. I love you I can't turn my back on you. We'll be together no matter what." Brooke looked at him and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Nathan lightly grabbed her chin and kissed her gently. She wrapped her arms around him pulling him as close as possible not wanting to ever let go.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He picked her up and carried her the short distance to the bed lightly lying her down before climbing in with her. "So we're going to have a baby, huh?" Brooke turned toward him and nodded lightly playing with the sleeve of his shirt. "Who would've thought Nathan Scott and Brooke Davis having a baby together?"

"About all of Tree Hill." Nathan looked at her and smiled, she was right they were going to be together at least once it was usually just how things went. Brooke drifted off to sleep finally without her mind running a mile a minute, she finally felt that at least for now she can take a deep breath and relax. Her and Nathan were going to be together.


	27. Answers and Apologies

Brooke woke up and left the empty side of the bed and frowned. She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and found the note on her alarm clock and smiled. She knew that Nathan wouldn't leave her without telling her where he was. She sighed rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and slowly getting up and making her way over to her phone and dialed Peyton's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey I was wondering since I don't have anything to do today if you wanted to hang out?"

"Sure Jake's got plans with Nathan so yeah I'll meet you at your dorm around 9?"

"See ya then!" Brooke hung up and felt a new sense of happiness wash over her and she stood up adjusted the brace on her leg and walked to the door and back with a little difficulty but not as much as usual. She smiled and picked up her phone sending Nathan a text before going to take a shower. She had so many things running through her mind about how Peyton had gone from Luke to marrying Jake.

Peyton met Brooke at her dorm room and together they got in Peyton's rental car and headed towards Brooke's favorite Café. They sat down and fell into a comfortable silence as they ordered their drinks.

"How's he doing?" Peyton asked as she looked over the menu.

"He's seeing a girl named Natalie who he goes to school with and who slept with Nathan."

"What?" Peyton asked choking a little bit on her Coke.

"Yeah Nathan met her while he was on vacation and slept with her."

"Wow."

"Yep but he's doing okay." Peyton nodded still focused on the menu sitting in front of her. "So you know what I want to hear, so tell me."

"I ran into him as I was picking up some boxes after I ran out and he just happened to be mailing something and we just got to talking and we hooked up and he surprised me while at school one night and we just decided to get married."

"Was your dad at least there?"

"Yeah." Brooke nodded though a little hurt that she wasn't there but she knew how important it was for Peyton to be happy and she could tell that with Jake she was truly happy. "I'm really happy with him, ya know? Like with Luke there was always something between us but with Jake it was just me and him."

"I'm happy for you Peyt, I really am." Brooke reassured putting her hand on-top of Peyton's. They ordered food and laughed and joked about Tim's girlfriend when Brooke saw Nathan and Jake walk in laughing and joking about something. Brooke smiled and kicked Peyton's foot pointing with her fork at Nathan and Jake. Peyton turned her head and laughed along with Brooke as the boys sat down a couple of tables away from them. Brooke and Peyton looked at each other and smirked. "Let's have some fun." Brooke mouthed and Peyton shook her head trying not to laugh.

"So Peyton I've been wondering something for quite some time now." Nathan looked up at the familiar sound of his girlfriend's voice and looked over noticing her and Peyton a couple of tables over.

"What's that?"

"How is Jake in bed because he looks like he's packing?"

"Oh my god you have no idea B. It's pure magic every time and I'm always screaming for more!" Peyton exclaimed leaning forward as if it was a secret. Jake looked at Nathan and back over towards Brooke and Peyton wondering what the hell had gotten into Peyton. The girls laughed and eat some more of their food before Peyton looked up and leaned forward again. "So Brooke in your opinion which one of the Scott brothers is better?" Brooke looked at Peyton in mock shock and put her hand on her chin to make it seem like she was thinking.

"Well size wise it would have to be…"

"Brooke!" Nathan exclaimed not wanting her to finish her sentence and standing up. Brooke looked at Nathan and back to Peyton before both girls burst into laughter almost falling on the floor. Brooke stood up and hobbled over to Nathan kissing him to make him feel better.

"I was going to say that you were better if you let me finish my sentence, but I did get your attention."

"Wait it was all a joke?" Jake asked looking at Peyton who was trying not to cry from laughter.

"Oh yeah, we saw you guys walk in and decided to have a little fun." Brooke answered as Peyton wiped her eyes.

"So everything you said was a lie?" Nathan asked looking between Brooke and Peyton.

"What I said was true." Peyton admitted as Jake smirked at Nathan. Nathan just shook his head and kissed Brooke again before going back to his table. It was nice to have some fun after the past depressing months and Nathan noticed how Brooke's smile was so big that it finally reached her eyes.

Brooke and Peyton left moments later leaving Jake and Nathan to themselves. "So how are you feeling about Brooke being pregnant?"

"Well at first I was shocked because she's pregnant but now after thinking about it, I'm kinda excited." Nathan admitted looking off to the distance his eyes almost glazed over.

"So you and Brooke are going to get married?"

"Not just because she's pregnant or anything but because I love her."

"Are you sure your Dan's son?" Jake asked in all seriousness. Nathan smiled and shook his head.

"In some ways I'm just like him."

"How so?"

"After Dan died, I found solace in the beach house and one night I ran into Brooke and we became friends yet I wouldn't tell anyone else because I knew that Haley couldn't stand Brooke because of Peyton and Luke so I was ass to her and denied any form of relationship with her."

"You couldn't help it."

"If I could've I wouldn't have been so fucked up after Haley left."

"But the silver lining is that you and Brooke are now together and happy." Nathan nodded and a comfortable silence fell over them.

After both were finished eating Jake went back to the hotel to see Peyton and Nathan went to find Brooke. He wanted to apologize for the night of Graduation, he felt bad for not finding her and telling her how stupid he was for not being there for her. He walked into his dorm and found Brooke laying on his bed flipping through a scrapbook. Nathan sat down on the bed next to her and saw the pictures from Graduation.

"Ya know, I never did tell you how sorry I was that night." He whispered looking over the picture of him and her together smiling like they didn't have a care in the world.

"Sorry for what?"

"For not being there for you when your parents weren't, for not going after you when you left, for not staying with you that night, and for just being ass to you." He replied looking down at his un-tied shoe lace.

"Nate, it wasn't all your fault. I really appreciated you coming to find me that night and at least making sure I was okay." She admitted lightly rubbing his arm. Nathan looked up and saw the tears in her eyes. He sighed and moved so he was lying next to her. He turned so he was facing her and lightly rubbed her cheek wiping at the stray tear that had fallen. "That year was so fucked up."

"Yeah but at least we had our own little getaway."

"You were the only person that really cared about me."

"That's not true, Peyton went to find you the next morning and she broke down for like an hour when she told me you were gone. She kept saying that it was all her fault when in reality it was mine and Luke's fault." Brooke sighed and inched closer lightly kissing the corner of his mouth. "I love you." He whispered kissing her fully on the lips. Brooke sighed into his mouth and pulled away resting her forehead against his.

"I love you too." They just laid there into the early hours of the morning staring into each other's eyes and kissing every so often just the two of them, the only thing that mattered at the moment.


	28. A Surprise Anniversary and Spring Break

Nathan stood in the middle of the jewelry store with his mom and Keith trying to pick out the perfect ring for Brooke since he was planning on asking her to marry him and not because she's pregnant. He had to stress that to his mom and Keith when he called them and invited them to come with him but his mom still joked about it every once in awhile then to make Nathan feel better told him not to worry about the price of the ring because it was his father's gift to him.

Nathan scanned the last case of rings and stop dead in his tracks when he saw it. It was the perfect ring; it had one semi-large diamond in the middle and one little diamond on each side. Deb looked over and smiled when she saw Nathan eyeing the ring and alerted the attendant who got the ring out of the case and Deb slipped in on her finger since she and Brooke were about the same size and smiled when it fit just right.

After the ring was paid for Nathan went back to Brooke's dorm to make sure she would be ready for their date at 4:30 o'clock, he had everything planned perfectly. They were going to head to the park that Nathan had found a couple of months ago and have a picnic and he was going to propose. Just thinking about how Brooke was going to react to the whole situation made Nathan smile like a fool. Nathan stopped at her door and took a deep breath telling himself not to give anything away; it was only their 4 month anniversary nothing more nothing less at least that's what Brooke thought. Nathan opened the door and stood there watching Brooke rush around like a mad woman as she looked for something, to make his presence known Nathan cleared his throat stopping her dead in her tracks. She turned in his direction and smiled going over to him and lightly kissing his cheek before going off to look for whatever she was looking for before he walked in.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something, what do you need?"

"I need to make sure that you're going to be ready at 4:30."

"I will."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He nodded and kissed her cheek before leaving to shower and get ready. Brooke waited till he closed the door before pulling out the shirt she had been looking for, it was the shirt that she and Kayla had picked out for her date tonight and she knew Nathan was going to love it. It was a off the shoulders low cut pink shirt that accentuated her curves in all the right places and gave Nathan a peak of her new pink lacy bra that she had also bought. She smiled when thinking about Nathan's reaction to her shirt.

Promptly at 4:30 Nathan was about to open Brooke's door when it swung open and Brooke stood in front of him. He looked over her body and felt his jaw fall open at bit at how her shirt hugged her body and the length of her skirt that fell just in the right place between her thigh and knee and her heels made her the perfect height for Nathan. She smiled and began walking out of the room a little ways before Nathan realized that she was walking away from him and jogged to catch up to her. Brooke smiled at Nathan who's blue button up shirt was slightly undone at the top showing off the white wife-beater he was wearing underneath and his khaki pants were just baggy enough that if Brooke wanted to she could pull them down without even unbuttoning them. Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks Brooke forced herself to push all thoughts of Nathan undressed from her mind and focus on something else, but yet again she didn't get pregnant because Nathan was a nice guy. Laughing slightly to herself she followed Nathan to a car and looked over at him.

"I rented it for the night." She nodded and as he opened her door sliding in so her skirt didn't ride up and buckled her seatbelt as he too got in and started the car. They drove the short 10 minute drive to the park. Brooke looked around and back at Nathan who had already gotten out of the car and grabbed the stuff in the back before he came and opened up Brooke's door for her. She looked at him confused as to what they were doing in the park. Nathan held out his hand for her to take before walking over towards the spot he had picked out by the pond and setting the blanket down.

He motioned for Brooke to join him on the blanket as he opened up the basket that had Brooke's favorite burger from the little café near school and her pink lemonade that she had slightly become addicted to and placed them in front of her watching her face light up and a huge smile form on her face before grabbing his own burger. "Happy Anniversary."

"I can't believe you did all of this, it's so sweet."

"Oh this is just the beginning." She looked at him wondering how she got so lucky and Nathan just smiled because he was wondering how he got so lucky. They had a light conversation while they ate before Nathan pulled out his desert, that he knew Brooke was going to die for. He had Karen make Brooke some brownies and send them up with Deb. Brooke looked at the brownies and tasted one quietly moaning in her mouth before throwing her arms around Nathan knocking him lightly to the ground.

"I love you. I can't believe you got some Karen brownies."

"Well it is a special occasion."

"Still this is the greatest thing ever." Nathan looked at her and thought that it was now or never.

"That reminds me, I have something to ask you." She nodded attempting to get off of Nathan but he stopped her looking her dead in the eye. "Brooke we've been together for awhile now and I love you more than anything and I hope you know that so I was wondering," He reached in his pocket and pulled out the little velour box. "Will you marry me?" Brooke looked between Nathan and box and her mouth fell open.

"Yes." She choked out her eyes watery as Nathan smiled slipping the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful."

"A beautiful ring for a gorgeous girl." He replied lightly kissing her cheek as she looked at the ring almost as if Nathan wasn't there. Nathan smiled and sat up a little bit as Brooke finally broke her gaze away from the ring. She sighed and Nathan looked over at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant and that means I'll get fat."

"So?"

"I don't want to get married fat."

"Who says you have to?"

"What?"

"Well what if I told you that we could get married when we go home for Spring break."

"Serious?"

"What if I already made some minor plans?"

"Nathan that's so sweet of you!" She squealed hugging him tightly again. He laughed and held her tightly. They sat there until the sun went down before packing up the basket and heading back for the night. Brooke looked over at Nathan as they drove back to the dorms and smiled. When they got back they headed for Brooke's dorm to hang out. They only had a few days left before Spring Break and Brooke now couldn't wait to get home.

The last few days before Spring Break flew by and before Brooke knew it she was standing in the airport looking for Luke and Natalie. Finally after looking for them for what felt like forever Brooke spotted Luke and Natalie, she waved her hand and got Luke's attention. He laughed when he saw Nathan practically being dragged behind Brooke but the smile on Nathan's face meant that there was something more to this visit then Luke expected.

"Hey guys!" Natalie exclaimed hugging Brooke and Nathan. Brooke and Natalie had somewhat become friends since she and Luke started dating.

"Hey Uncle Luke." Nathan joked laughing as Brooke and Natalie started walking towards the car leaving Luke and Nathan to grab their bags. Luke was about to laugh with him when it dawned on him.

"Brooke's pregnant?"

"Yep."

"Since when?"

"About a month ago-ish."

"No way."

"Yeah and we're getting married before we head back to school."

"What?!" Luke exclaimed stopping in the middle of the parking lot looking Nathan dead in the eye. "You're getting married and didn't even tell me?"

"It's called a surprise and oh Peyton and Jake are coming to." Luke looked at Nathan wondering what else he had to tell him. "They're married too." Nathan finished walking over towards Brooke and Natalie who were waiting by Luke's car.

"Ha! I already knew that!" Luke exclaimed as they reached the car. Nathan just laughed and threw Brooke's bag into the back and slid in beside her, she too was laughing and shaking her head at Luke who was still celebrating his little victory over Nathan.

The car ride back to Karen's was filled with idle chit-chat none of them really having anything important to talk about and Brooke's mind was too wrapped up in her wedding making her the Queen of one word answers. Luke pulled into the driveway of the beach house and handed Nathan the keys saying that Deb thought they would want to have some time alone and helped Nathan carry the bags into the house before leaving.

Brooke looked over at Nathan and knew that something was up as he walked out of the house and onto the deck. She sighed and watched him for a few moments knowing he would want to be alone so she went to call Karen and go over some wedding plans with her.

Nathan stood on the deck for a few minutes before going back into the house and sat down on the couch in the living room. Nathan smiled as Brooke walked out in his basketball shorts and one of his shirts. It brought back the memory of Brooke's birthday.

_Flashback_

Nathan walked up to Brooke's house and knocked on the door hoping she was home. He smiled when she answered the door but frowned when he saw the running mascara mixed with her tears. "Brooke what's wrong?"

"Nothing Nate, what's up?"

"Well I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to the beach house to hang out."

"I don't know Nate."

"Just me and you I promise." She looked at him and into the empty house before grabbing her bag and walking out to his car with him. She looked at him and wondered how he got out of the claws of Tutor girl and Nathan looked over at her and knew what she was thinking. "I told her I needed some time alone."

"Lying isn't good Nathan."

"A little white lie won't hurt." She looked at him and gave in laughing a little bit as they pulled up to the beach house. Nathan got out of the car and went over to Brooke and put his hand over her eyes as they walked into the house. He smiled as he saw all the balloons and the cake he had bought just for her birthday. Finally he lifted his hand from her eyes and she gasped as she took everything in. She turned and looked at him the question at the tip of her tongue but her voice long gone. "I wanted to celebrate your birthday with you because it's the big 1-8 and you can't spend it alone at your house." She looked at him for a moment before flinging her arms around him hugging him tightly.

"You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Well you were there for my birthday so I thought I should be there for your birthday. Plus I saw how sad you looked today when Peyton and Haley ignored you, I know you're not talking to them but they could've at least wished you a happy birthday." Brooke looked at him and wondered how she got so lucky to have Nathan in her life. She knew that if she really needed Nathan he would be there for her and she was grateful.

Nathan gave her his present which was a beautiful gold locket with a picture of her and Nathan from one night they hung out and the words friends forever on the other side. She yet again found herself speechless and hugged Nathan tears of joy falling down her face. They spent the rest of the night watching movies and playing games before falling asleep early in the morning. Brooke would never forget her 18th birthday.

_End of Flashback_

Nathan smiled and stood up going to find Brooke. The memory of her birthday still playing over in his head, boy was he glad that they were together now.

13 hours after Brooke and Nathan had arrived in Tree Hill for Spring Break Brooke was out shopping for her dress with Peyton and Karen and Nathan was lounging around with Jake out at the beach house. Nathan seemed a little more relax about the wedding than Brooke liked but she was just happy that he was at least helping.

"Brooke, we've been here for 3 hours and you've hated everything. I know that you want your dress perfect but come on." Peyton whined as they yet again looked through the dresses and Karen just laughed.

"Peyton, if you want to leave then leave." Brooke reminded a smile placed on her face making Karen laugh.

"Yeah like that wouldn't piss you off." Brooke looked at Peyton and shrugged her shoulders as she finally saw the perfect dress.

"I found it!" Peyton looked over at the dress and smiled.

"It's perfect." Karen and Peyton replied at the same time laughing as they looked at each other. Meanwhile back at the beach house Nathan was about to ask Jake the question that's been burning his mind.

"How are you going to handle seeing Luke at the wedding?" Jake looked up from the TV screen setting his controller on the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're Peyton's husband and he's her ex-boyfriend, doesn't that bother you?" Jake looked to the floor for a moment thinking about his answer before looking back up to Nathan.

"Nope because and this is going to sound a little cocky but I got the girl. She said yes to me not him and if he has a problem with it, well then that's not my problem. He has a girlfriend so Peyton shouldn't even be on his radar." Nathan looked at Jake and knew that maybe there might be some hard feelings between the three of them and Nathan was glad that for once he wasn't involved with all the drama and that he and Brooke were happy.

Speaking of Brooke, Nathan picked up his phone and hoped that she wasn't angry that he didn't call when he was supposed to but looking at the clock he knew he was only an hour late and knowing Brooke she was still shopping. "Hello?"

"Hey, how's dress shopping going?"

"Good we're looking for Peyton's dress."

"Oh cool, so what do I need to do?"

"You and Jake are going shopping for your suits with Keith, then you're going to meet me and got over seating charts, and lastly you are going to figure out who you're best man is."

"The last one's a no brainer." Nathan joked making Brooke laugh; she should've known that Jordan was going to be Nathan's best man since the 2 were so close. Brooke smiled when thinking about Jordan since he, Kayla, Jessica, and Tim were flying in the next day for the wedding and Brooke really missed her friends even Jessica who had become one of Brooke's best friends since her accident after she offered a spot on the squad for the next year as a 'coach' of sorts since she felt that she was to blame for Brooke's accident, so maybe Brooke was going to go back to cheering. "Brooke!" Nathan called after a few moments of silence and Nathan chuckled. "Davis!" Brooke shook her head and remembered she was on the phone with Nathan.

"Sorry, I spaced."

"It's okay, so Jake and I are leaving now and I'll meet you back at the beach house around 5ish."

"Alright, have fun with Jake."

"I will and be careful." Brooke playfully sighed and rolled her eyes, he was always telling her to be careful now.

"I guess playing hopscotch is out of the question."

"Yeah."

"Oh I should probably cancel the game of chicken Peyton and I have planned for later."

"That sounds like a good idea." Nathan replied playing along with their new game they came up with as they lay in bed the night before.

"Anyway, I love you and I'll see you later."

"Love you too." He replied hanging up the phone and looking over at Jake who had a confused look on his face. "Don't ask." Jake laughed and shook his head at Nathan's overly happy face.

Brooke sat in the kitchen at the island with the papers spread out in front of her. She had a small guest list for the wedding but still placing everyone was going to hard because she had to take everything like who didn't like who and other things so she was getting a headache. She had already told Peyton and Luke that they were going to have to behave because they had to sit at the same table since Peyton was a bridesmaid/maid of honor and Luke was a groomsman. She laughed thinking about Peyton's reaction, Peyton had a look of pure blankness on her face when she told Brooke that she didn't care if she and Luke sat at the same table she had no issues with her and Luke well he was only concerned about how Natalie would feel to which Brooke just replied that she could just suck it up.

Nathan strolled into the house with his suit and hung it up in the guest room before going to meet Brooke in the kitchen and upon walking into the kitchen she saw Brooke resting her head on the counter and Nathan laughed. "Brooke." He stated watching her eyes flutter open and a smile appear on her face. "Hey sorry I'm late, it took longer than I thought."

"Stopped at the sports store didn't you?" She joked kissing him on the cheek. He just smirked and sat down next to her looking over everything she's done so far. "I'm having a problem with where to put your grandparents and my mom."

"Why not put them at Karen's table?"

"I thought about that but don't your grandparents hate Karen?" Nathan nodded his head and for the next 20 minutes they tried to place them somewhere else and finally Nathan just said that they could suck it up and put them there. Brooke was surprised that it had taken them over 2 hours to seat only about 150 people but Nathan reminded her that they had difficult people in their families.

The next day Nathan found himself standing in the airport fighting to stay awake as Brooke slightly bounced up and down next to him with a huge smile on her face. She couldn't wait to see her friends from school which made Nathan laugh but he was too tired to notice, which is why he hoped that Tim would drive his car back home since he was too tired. The night before Nathan and Jake had stayed up late playing video games and now Nathan was paying the price, he knew he should've listened to Brooke when she said that they were leaving early the next day. Now here he was his hand being flung up and down every time Brooke bounced to see if she could see Kayla or Jessica and before Nathan knew it he was being dragged into the huge crowd of people before Brooke dropped his hand and wrapped her arms around Jordan. Nathan and Tim nodded their heads in acknowledgement as Brooke hugged Kayla and Jessica.

"You look like shit Scott." Kayla joked as they walked towards the cars.

"Thanks Kayla, you always know the right thing to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Nathan replied walking over to Brooke and kissing her cheek mumbling something about seeing her later before tossing his keys to Tim and getting in the passenger side. Tim smiled like a kid on Christmas before Brooke told him to get Nathan back to Tree Hill in one piece or else Jessica would spend years searching for all of his body parts. Tim pulled into the driveway of the beach house and got out tired of hearing Jordan complain about how cautious Tim was being the entire way home.

"Dude, I'm scared of Brooke so I'm not going to make her angry." Nathan looked at Jordan noting the look of disbelief and Nathan laughed.

"He's being serious Jor; he's been afraid of her since she cupped him and threw him against the lockers in freshman year for slapping her ass." Tim's smiled disappeared from his face as he thought back to the memory and shivered at the thought making both Nathan and Jordan laugh. Brooke pulled in with Kayla and Jessica moments later and went over to Nathan searching his body for any indications of getting hurt. "Brooke he was very cautious the whole way home." She nodded and thanked Tim to which he just nodded his head a little afraid of what she was going to do.

That night Brooke invited Peyton, Jake, Luke, and Natalie over to hang out with them as sort of a dry run for what was going to happen at the wedding and as Brooke watched everyone interact with each other all her worries about them not getting along and there be a ton of drama was slowly melting away. She looked at Nathan and couldn't wait for them to married.

A/N: Alright so I was going to include the wedding but then I decided to split it up since I feel like I've been neglecting you guys so, stay tuned for the wedding and tell me what you think!


	29. Finally!

Brooke smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror; she looked perfect for her perfect day. She couldn't believe that in less than 2 hours she was going to be Mrs. Scott. She lightly rubbed her stomach and smiled when she thought about having a baby with Nathan. The timing wasn't the best but thinking back on everything that had happened since the beginning of the year the baby had been a blessing in disguise.

Peyton smiled into the mirror as she watched Brooke smiling down at her stomach and when she looked up the two locked eyes and Peyton could feel Brooke's excitement. She was so happy for her best friend because she had found the one for her and she wasn't wasting any time to make him hers. She laughed to herself about the one for Brooke being Nathan Scott, the same Nathan Scott that Brooke claimed to hate when Peyton was dating him but Peyton just chalked that up to the fact that that time Nathan was the biggest asshole around Tree Hill.

Nathan stood on the deck of the beach house resting his palms on the rail leaning forward every so often. He was so nervous about everything being perfect this afternoon because Brooke deserved something to go right for the first time since the beginning of the year. He hoped that Haley didn't show up and decided to make a big deal out of him getting married; he didn't need to deal with that drama. He sighed stepping away from the railing and walked into the house where everyone was lounging and playing video games. He really wanted to call Brooke and make sure that everything was going smoothly but when he reached for the phone Jordan appeared and whipped it out of his hand as he walked towards the guest room to shower.

Peyton picked up the small box out of her purse and walked over to Brooke a huge smile on her face. She couldn't wait for Brooke to open Nathan's present because Peyton knew that Brooke was going to love it since it had taken Nathan almost 3 hours to finally pick it out. Brooke looked at Peyton suspiciously as she took the box from her and pulled the ribbon off the box. When Brooke opened the box she gasped when she saw the charm bracelet. She felt her eyes water and looked up at Peyton who nodded her head silently answering her question about who had sent the gift. Brooke smiled and picked it up out of the box and put it on her wrist. She lifted her wrist and looked closely at each charm and smiled, oh how she loved Nathan.

Nathan finally walked into the church and stood at the end of the aisle like he was told to do the night before at rehearsal. The rehearsal was nothing sort of chaotic and filled with drama with all the people in the wedding finally all together and the tension between Luke and Peyton so thick that it couldn't even be dented with a chainsaw. Brooke stood in the middle of the church almost wanting to cry as she watched Luke and Peyton glaring at each other because they were supposed to get along for just 1 day and then they could go on hating each other but no they couldn't let Brooke be happy for at least 1 day out of her entire life. It's not like they didn't almost ruin her life over a year ago, no that wouldn't be why Brooke just wanted them to fake it for a day. Nathan stood at the altar with Jordan when he saw Brooke turn away from the group and walk out of the church and knew that something was wrong. He looked at Jordan before sprinting out of the church and towards Brooke who was walking out of the church and towards the car. "Brooke!" She stopped and turned the tears falling faster than she could wipe from her face. Nathan sighed and instinctively pulled her to him wrapping his arms around her. "Come on now, it's the day before our wedding you shouldn't be crying."

"Look at the two of them, they keep glaring at each other and the tension is so thick it's almost unbearable to be in there. Why can't they let me be happy at least once in my life?" She asked looking Nathan dead in the eye and making him sigh again.

"I don't know Brooke but I'm promising you right now that tomorrow will be the best day of your life." Brooke looked up at Nathan and sighed laying her head on his shoulder as they walked back into the church. Jordan looked up when Nathan and Brooke walk in and Nathan motioned for Jordan to come cheer Brooke up. Nathan looked at Luke and motioned for him and Peyton to follow him. He led them into the back of the church where he knew that no one would hear him if he had to yell.

"What's up Nate?" Luke asked not knowing why Nate was so mad.

"I understand that there are some issues between the two of you," he started motioning between Luke and Peyton with his hand. "But this isn't about the two of you, it's about Brooke and I and she deserves to have it be the best day of her life. The two of you are going to play nice and not act like fucking 2 year olds and once the whole wedding is over you can kill each other for all I care. You two at least owe Brooke one day of happiness after the messy history you guys have, got it?" Both nodded and Nathan walked out leaving the two. He found Jordan and Brooke sitting in the corner quietly talking to each other and Jordan stood up when he saw Nathan out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, are you feeling better?" She shrugged her shoulders and laid her head on his shoulder. "Well let's get this done with so we can hang out." She nodded a faint smile on her face. After Peyton and Luke came back both apologizing to Brooke they finished up rehearsal and headed back to the beach house for a joint party since Nathan didn't want to spend the night away from Brooke no matter what people said about not seeing each other and having the rest of their lives to spend with each other. Brooke was happy to have Nathan by her side that night as everyone partied and got drunk, she didn't mind not drinking since only stupid things happened when she got drunk. She gently rubbed her stomach as Peyton and Jake got up to dance. She smiled when she felt Nathan rest his hands on her shoulders and gently massage them.

Hours later Peyton and Brooke arrived at Jake's parents and crashed in his room. Brooke was very thankful that the day was over and she now was only a few hours away from being Mrs. Scott. She fell asleep with a smile on her face that night as she dreamt of the future they were going to have.

Brooke and her father stood in the back of the church with the doors closed as they waited to walk out. Brooke was so happy that her parents had come to her wedding; it came as a big surprise when they showed up at rehearsal the night before and actually hovered over Brooke. She smiled and gripped her father's arm tightly as the doors opened and they began walking.

As Brooke stood in front of Nathan she couldn't help but tear up a little bit because of everything that had led up to this moment. All the fights, drunken tirades, tears, and nights in the hospital the day that Brooke had been dreaming about since she and Nathan started going out was finally here. She thought back to the first time that she had laid eyes on Nathan Scott back in High School. It was during the first game of Brooke's Varsity Cheerleading career that she noticed Nathan standing over on the court with one of the seniors Joe who from what Brooke could tell was Nathan's team buddy. She couldn't help but feel like she had to get to know Nathan since he looked like he was bound for greatness. Even at that young age Brooke could tell if people were going to great or not, she called it her special talent besides making boys fall at her feet. She then flashed to the night that Brooke and Nathan had hooked up, it had the best night of Brooke's life but of course like everything else in her life it ended too quickly for her liking.

Nathan watched as Brooke stood in front of him and it seemed that she was thinking about something awfully hard because she was barely paying attention to what the Minister was saying and it made Nathan laugh to himself as he gently squeezed her hand bringing her back to him and what was going around him. He saw Peyton softly glaring at something over his shoulder and knew that it was Luke. He silently sighed and turned his attention back to Brooke who was repeating her vows and slipping the ring on his finger. He smiled and took his turn saying the seemingly normal words but they held such meaning to Nathan that as he slipped the ring on her finger he couldn't help but tear up a little bit. It was finally happening, Brooke Davis, was now Mrs. Brooke Scott. The kissed they shared in front of everyone was a more toned down version of their normal kisses since Brooke felt that she didn't need people seeing how she got pregnant in the first place.

As they walked down the aisle all Nathan could think about was that they had finally done it, they were finally married and nothing was going to tear them apart. He smiled even bigger when he felt Brooke's hand squeeze his own. It wouldn't matter to Nathan if the world was crashing down around him because he and Brooke were finally together. Nathan slid into the limo behind Brooke and sighed in relief. "We finally did it." She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as they rode to the reception sight. Nathan smiled when she sighed in relief that everything was done and they could finally relax and enjoy the rest of their spring break before returning to the stressors of school. In the back of Nathan's head he couldn't help the little voice that told him to make sure that Brooke doesn't stress too much with the baby. He smiled when thinking about the baby, he and Brooke were going to be parents; he was going to have a little son or daughter to play basketball with or sleep in with, he couldn't wait until he was a father because he was determined to be a better father than his own. He was only going to have 1 family instead of 2 and he was never going to pin his kids against each other or love one more than the other, listen to him going on about having kids. He and Brooke had to make it through this pregnancy before they even think about having more kids and maybe they would wait until they were out of college before having another since he had a feeling it was going to take a lot to raise this child while still doing basketball and school.

Nathan helped Brooke out of the limo and before they walked into the house Nathan pulls Brooke towards him lightly kissing her. Brooke giggled and rested her head on his shoulder letting everything sink in. It felt that just yesterday that she and Nathan were breaking up because she was pregnant and afraid of telling him. It felt like just yesterday when Nathan had proposed and to Brooke everything was moving so fast that her head felt like it was starting to spin a little bit. She just hoped that things were going to slow down a bit so she could have some relaxing time before the baby comes. Thinking about that baby also made her head spin a little faster because she had no clue how they were going to make having a kid and going to school work and with Nathan's basketball training starting up she didn't know how she was going to do this on her own. "Before we go in there I just wanted to answer your question from a couple of days ago. We're going to make everything work; we've been through so much since the beginning of high school that I think we can handle raising our child and finishing college. I already talked to Jordan and he's willing to help out and so is Kayla. I don't want you stressing over how it's going to work because it's just going to work." Brooke smiled and kissed Nathan feeling a little better. Peyton came out and smiled at the sight of the two of them together, she knew from the moment she and Nathan had broken up that in the end Brooke and Nathan were going to end up together.

"Hey guys sorry to break up the love fest but you know we have a reception for your wedding."

"We're coming." Nathan replied looking at Brooke lightly kissing her before grabbing her hand and leading her towards the party. Tonight he was determined to have the most fun of his life so far. Brooke looked at Nathan and felt so lucky to have him in her life. She didn't know where she would be right now if she didn't have Nathan during the past couple of years. Everyone cheered when Nathan and Brooke walked in happy that they could finally start having some fun. Brooke let go of Nathan's hand to hug her mother and father while Nathan hugged Keith. After Nathan and Brooke made their rounds to everyone that had come to their wedding Nathan found himself in front of the microphone with everyone's eyes on him. Brooke stood in the middle of the room wondering why Nathan was standing in front of the microphone.

"Alright so since I have everyone's attention I have a surprise for Brooke. Now I know that we had a wedding song picked out and everything but I found a song that meant so much more to me." He stepped away from the microphone and went towards Brooke extending his hand in front of him. Brooke looked at him slightly angry that he had changed their song without telling her. "Dance with me?" She eyed him for a few moments before giving him her hand allowing him to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. Nathan pulled her close to him as the music began to play.

_There's a place I've been looking for_

_That took me in and out of buildings_

_Behind windows, walls and doors_

_And I thought I found it_

_Couple times__, even settled down_

_And I'd hang__ around just long enough_

_To find my way back out_

_I know now the place that I was trying to r__each w__as you, right here in front of me_

_And I wouldn't change a thing_

_I'd walk right back through the rain_

_Back to every broken heart_

_On the day that it was __breakin_

_And I'd relive all the years_

_And be thankful for the tears_

_I've cried with every stumbled step__T_

_hat led to you and got me here, right here_

_It's amazing what I let my heart go through t__o get me where it got me_

_In this moment here with you a__nd it passed me by __God knows how many times_

_I was so caught up in holding w__at I never thought I'd find I kn__ow now, there's a million roads_

_I had to take t__o get me in your arms that way_

_And I wouldn't change a thing __I'd walk right back through the rain b__ack to every broken heart_

_On the day that it was __breakin_

_And I'd relive all the years__And be thankful for the tears __I've cried with every stumbled step _

_That led to you and got me here, right here_

_In a love I never thought I'd get to get to-here a__nd__ if that's the road __God made me take to be with you_

_And I wouldn't change a thing __I'd walk right back through the rain b__ack to every broken heart_

_On the day that it was __breakin an__d I'd relive all the years a__nd be thankful for the tears __I've cried with every stumbled step t__hat led to you and got me here, right here_

_And I'd relive all the years a__nd__ be thankful for all the tears __I've cried with every stumbled step th__at led to you and got me here, right here __Oh, baby-__Ooo__Oh, got me here_

The song ended and Nathan pulled away from Brooke smiling when he saw her eyes a little watery. He knew that she would love the song just as much as Nathan did the first time he heard it. It explained their relationship to a T. Brooke smiled and pulled Nathan to her kissing him with everything she had in her. When she pulled apart she rested her forehead against his. "I love you." He just smiled in returned as he walked with her off the dance floor.

The rest of the night went off with little problems besides Luke and Peyton avoiding each other all night but true to their word they waited until the reception was over before getting into it. Nathan and Brooke were happy that the night was finally over and they could go home. Brooke smiled that night as they went home a big part of the chip on her shoulder gone.


	30. I'm Being a Friend

Nathan slipped out of bed careful not to wake Brooke and walked over to her desk hoping to finish his paper for his early morning class. As he sat down and looked out the little window she had right by her desk he felt his mind wander as the rain fell outside.

_Flashback_

_It was a cool November night and Nathan shivered as he got out of his warm car and started walking towards the front door of the beach house. He quickly opened the door and walked into the house hoping that it would be a little warmer than it was outside. As Nathan walked into the kitchen events from the day played over in his head and his mind landed on Brooke, something about her today sent warning signals to Nathan and all day long he wanted to talk to her and make sure she was okay but he couldn't because Hailey had decided to attach herself to him 24/7. He lo__ved Hailey and all but there are just__ some times when he just needs a break from her and that is why he likes basketball because that's his only time to just be Nathan and not have a care in the world._

_He looked through the cabinets hoping that there was some hard alcohol in them but with each cab__inet he opened that hope diminished__ and now he was just looking for anything. Finally finding some bottled__ water he zipped up his sweatshirt and walked out onto the deck._

_Brooke got out of her car and felt stupid for not grabbing a jacket on her way out of the house or at least keeping one in the car at least this way she wouldn't have to go home. She dreaded going home so after practice she decided that she was only going to go home if she absolutely had to. After last night home didn't really feel like home. She wished that her dad would come home and save her from the hell that her alcohol__ic step mother had made__. She wanted to scream at her that her dad had found someone better than her and she would be gone soon but she knew that doing so would result in another hit or push and Brooke had enough bruises to last her awhile._

_Nathan walked over to the railing forcing all his weight onto it as he leaned over breathing in the fresh air. He was watching the tide roll in and out when he saw her fall to the beach and shiver. He knew instantly that it was her; no one else would be at the beach in November at night. He smiled a little as he walked down the stairs and to where she was sitting.__ He unzipped his sweatshirt as he walked over to her and draped it over her shoulders before sitting down next to her. Brooke jumped when the warm material hit her shoulders but smiled when she saw Nathan sitting next to her. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Probably the same thing you're doing." He replied still watching the tide. She laughed a little at how well Nathan had grown to know about her in the short time that they had spent together. "When did it happen?"_

_"Yesterday."__ She replied knowing that playing innocent or lying would not work with him. _

_"I thought she stopped."_

_"She did but now that he's not around anymore to take the brunt of it she's turned her sights back onto me."_

_"You need to get out of there Brooke."_

_"Where would I go? If you haven't noticed you're really the only friend I have and that's only when shit like this happens."_

_"You're Brooke Davis you can do whatever you set your mind to."_

_"Stop trying to make me feel better, it's not going to work." Nathan sighed thinking about something, anything that would get Brooke out of her house or at least give her somewhere to stay when she needed it. He slipped his hands in his pockets and his fingers brushed against the key to the beach house and light bulb went off in his head. He pulled out the key and held it out to her. "What is this?"_

_"This is the key to the beach house and you're going to take it."_

_"No Nathan I can't do that."_

_"I'm not saying move here I'm saying that you have a place to stay when you need it. You can't keep sleeping out on the beach every time you don't wanna go home."_

_"Nathan I really appreciate what you're doing but I can't take that key."_

_"Why not?"_

_"I just can't, okay? I don't want you to have any chance of getting in trouble with Hailey because I know how much she means to you. So I think it's best if I just walk away. She looked down__ at the locket that he had given her for her birthday and Nathan stood up stopping her hands from undoing the clasp. _

_"Don't." She sighed and nodded hugging him one more time before walking away and wiping the tears that were beginning to fall away before he knew that she was crying. _

_The next day at school Brooke went to her locker and when she opened it the light lit the metal in the key and caught Brooke a little off guard. She looked around the hallway wondering who had put a key in her locker before opening the small note attached to it. **I'm your friend, so let me be your friend and help you out-Nathan**. She smiled and slipped the key into her bag before shutting her locker. She dropped a note on Nathan's desk as she walked into class and smiled at him when no one was looking. Nathan opened the note and nearly laughed out loud. **You can't blame me for being a little apprehensive about being friend with you because you, Nathan Lee Scott, can be a real asshole at tim**_**_es__-B.Davis._**_ Nathan looked over at Brooke and they shared a look that seemed to explain everything that needed to be said._

_End of Flashback_

Nathan shook his head and looked over at Brooke who was still sound asleep with a huge smile on her face. Shaking his head once more he turned back to the laptop in front of him knowing that he had to get his paper finished. Yet the memory of that night still played over in his head every so often.

A/N: So this is just to tide you guys over for a bit while I work on the next chapter, I hope you all enjoyed!


	31. Going Home

They had only been back in Tree Hill for 3 hours and already Brooke found herself in the middle of a ton of drama. Nathan and his mom were fighting over her new boyfriend, Luke wasn't talking to anybody, and Haley was going to be back to town for a show at Tric with Chris. 'Man I wish I was Karen and Keith right now!' Brooke thought in her head as she sat in living room watching Nathan and his mom argue out on the deck thinking that Brooke couldn't hear them or feel the tension and anger radiating off of them. She understood where Nathan was coming from with not agreeing with Deb's new man because something about him just wasn't right for her. Brooke knew it wasn't her place to say anything but Brooke knew how to read people and she had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before he turned on her and started taking his anger out on her.

Brooke sighed and picked up her phone dialing Luke's number to see if he could possibly take her away from all of the stress before she exploded. When he picked up the phone she knew that something wasn't right. "What's wrong?" She asked completely forgetting why she called in the first place.

"Nothing."

"Luke don't think that you can lie to me."

"Brooke it's nothing that you need to worry about right now."

"Well you can tell me when you pick me up because if I stay in this house a moment longer I'm going to kill someone."

"Why what's wrong?"

"Nathan and his mom are arguing about Henry."

"Wait he's the new boyfriend, right?"

"The one and only."

"Alright I'll be there soon."

"Thank you." She hung up the phone and got up just as Nathan turned away from his mom and Brooke sighed. If only Deb could see that Nathan was only stepping in because he cared and just wanted her to have the best. As Luke pulled into the driveway Brooke sent Nathan a text message telling him that she needed to get out of the house for a little while and got into the car. "So what's going on?" She asked as they sat in the diner that was currently closed until Karen got back from vacation.

"Natalie and I broke up." He admitted feeling that he needed to tell her the truth, she was Brooke Davis after all, and you don't lie to Brooke Davis.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I thought everything was going great and then she decides that she couldn't do us anymore that it was too much too soon and that she didn't think I was all the way in it anymore."

"What?"

"I guess she thinks that I'm getting bored with or something."

"Any reason she felt like that?" Brooke asked hoping that Luke wouldn't take it the wrong way and get angry at her.

"What are you saying?"

"Well if a girl thinks you're getting bored with her there has to be a reason behind it. You just don't wake up and decide to feel like you're not wanted anymore."

"So you're asking if I did something." She nodded her head taking another bite of the sandwich sitting in front of her. "All I've been doing is going to class, working, and hanging out with her and her friends."

"Maybe you've been paying too much attention to one of her friends."

"Do you remember Faith?" Brooke racked her brain and shook her head no moments later not being able to put a name with the face. "Well anyway we went to school together and Natalie and her are really close so I've been talking to Faith also."

"Well that's probably it, did you tell Natalie that you and Faith knew each other before?"

"Yes the night I found out that they were friends I told Natalie that Faith and I knew each other from Tree Hill and she seemed cool with it."

"She's jealous."

"What?"

"She's probably just jealous of the relationship that you and Faith have because if I remember correctly now you and she used to be closer than you and Haley were."

"She didn't have to break up with me just because Faith and I were becoming good friends again. I thought that every girlfriend wanted their boyfriend to get along with their best friend."

"They do but they don't want them to become closer to the best friend than to them. I know that you and Natalie were close but you and Faith have history. You can't just expect her to be okay with you talking to her best friend more than her." Brooke looked down at her plate the memories of what happened between Luke, Peyton, and her came rushing back. "You can't be mad at Natalie for ending it before she got hurt."

"I wasn't going to hurt her."

"Luke look at who you're talking to, I know how this story ends. You and Faith are getting close and she's afraid that she's losing you so she makes up some bogus lie to break up with you so she doesn't get hurt."

"Brooke I'm not like that anymore. I screwed up with you and I'm truly sorry about that but I wasn't going to do that to Natalie." Brooke finished her drink and stood up looking at Luke straight in the eye.

"That's what you said to me and you still did it." She grabbed her bag and walked out of the café almost running straight into Nathan who had a pissed off and worried expression on his face. "Nate, what's wrong?" Nathan looked up and relief instantly flooded his face.

"You didn't have to leave."

"The tension was too much for me so I decided to leave and let you guys handle things."

"Are you okay?" He asked brushing a stray tear away.

"I'm fine."

"Brooke."

"I don't want to talk about it right now, okay? Can we please just do something relaxing and fun today?" He nodded and grabbed her hand as they walked down the street. They aimlessly walked around town for awhile before Brooke yawned and Nathan drove them home so Brooke could rest. Nathan walked out of their bedroom softly closing the door behind him and walked out into the kitchen. He sighed leaning up against one of the counters and thought back to when he had found Brooke earlier and he wondered again what had made her cry and then without thought he picked up the beach house phone and called the last person that had been with Brooke before he found her.

"Hello?"

"Luke it's Nate."

"Oh what's up?"

"Um I kinda had something to ask you."

"Okay shoot?"

"You were with Brooke this morning right while my mom was here?"

"Yeah why?"

"What happened while you guys were together?"

"It's only Nate don't worry about it."

"Luke man just tell me."

"Alright." He replied sighing and getting himself ready for Nathan to get pissed at him. "I was telling her about why Natalie and I broke up and she got upset."

"Why would she get that upset over that?" Nathan asked more to himself than to Luke.

"Natalie broke up with me because I was spending too much time with Faith, her best friend."

"Luke."

"No I'm not sleeping with her, god that was one mistake in my life when is everybody going to forget it."

"It's not that easy to forget Luke, you were Brooke's first real boyfriend that she fell in love with and you really hurt her. She's never going to ever really forget it."

"I just wish she would know how sorry I am."

"She will just don't worry about it."

"So how's the whole mommy boyfriend thing?"

"She's so stubborn. I could understand if it was just me having problems with the guy because I'm her son and well I'm supposed to but when it's Brooke, Karen, and Keith along with me doesn't that scream that something's wrong?"

"Yeah but come on Nate you're mom has to do this by herself."

"I know but I don't want her to get hurt like she did with Dan."

"She's a grown woman Nate, you can't protect her forever." Nate sighed knowing that Luke was right but didn't want to admit it. "Well I better let you get back to your wife and I'm sorry if I upset her this morning."

"Thanks Luke." Nathan hung up the phone and went back to the bedroom was Brooke was sleeping and as he watched her he prayed that the rest of the summer would be easier on her.

A/N: So there's the next chapter……………..I hope you guys liked it and I feel so bad for taking so long to update……..R&R!


	32. Welcome Baby

Brooke looked around the room feeling overwhelmed by how much cleaning had to be done before everyone arrived for Thanksgiving since Brooke was too far along to get on a plane and travel and driving down there just wasn't an option so Karen and Deb decided that they would come to Brooke for Thanksgiving. This left Brooke to clean up the apartment in-between classes and going to Nathan's games it was just too much for her.

Nathan walked into the apartment and smiled at Brooke and wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on her shoulder. "Hey babe, I'll handle the rest of the clean-up." She smiled and turned gently kissing him in thanks before walking off into their bedroom and lying down to rest after her hard day. Nathan closed the bedroom door behind her and headed back into the living room to tackle the rather messy room.

The moment that Brooke had finally relaxed and started to fall asleep she felt a sharp pain rip through her stomach. "Nathan!" She screamed sitting up and grabbing her stomach. Nathan rushed into the room panicking when he saw Brooke holding her stomach. "I think it's time." He seemed to freeze after she said this and only burst into action when she screamed again. He rushed over to the bed and helped her up slowly walking her out of the room and towards the front door grabbing her bag from the front hall closet. They made it the hospital in record time and Brooke was rushed into a room and hooked up to the machines while Nathan called his mom.

Deb was running around doing some last minute packing and getting everything together when the phone rang. "Hello?"  
"Hey mom, it's Nate."

"What's up?"

"I don't think I'll be able to pick you up from the hospital tomorrow so it'll probably be Peyton that is picking you up."

"What's wrong?"

"Brooke's water broke so we're at the hospital."

"Oh Nathan, that's fine we'll meet you at the hospital tomorrow and tell Brooke not to worry about anything, Karen and I will take care of anything."

"Thanks mom."

"Tell Brooke to hold that baby in until we get there."

"Alright mom." Nathan chuckled and hung up deciding to call Peyton from the room so Brooke wasn't alone for to long. "Hey." He greeted walking into the room and over to the side of Brooke's bed grabbing her hand. "My mom said that you have to hold the baby in until they get here."

"I love your mom." Brooke laughed and squeezed Nathan's hand as a pain ripped through her body. "Did you get ahold of Peyton?"

"I was going to call her from here." Brooke nodded and let go of Nathan's hand so he could grab the phone. Nathan dialed Peyton's number and hoped that her plane had already landed and that she was heading towards their apartment.

"Hello?"

"Peyton it's Nathan."

"Oh hey Nate Jake and I are on our way to your apartment right now."

"Change in plans."

"Why?"

"Brooke went into labor and we're at the hospital."

"Oh my god is she okay?"

"Yeah she's fine she's just in some pain and scared."

"That's understandable."

"Anyway I need you and Jake to do me a huge favor."

"What's that?"

"Could you finish picking up the apartment for me?"

"Yeah we can do that."

"Thank you Peyton."

"Alright we'll just stop by the hospital for a little bit grab the keys from you and then we'll get started."

"You're a lifesaver Peyton."

"I know." Nathan laughed and hung up the phone looking at Brooke running his hand through her hair.

"She's gonna stop by for a little bit." Brooke nodded and leaned into Nathan's touch as his hand cupped her cheek his thumb lightly rubbing. "You okay? Do you need anything?" She shook her head no and sighed just wanting the baby to come out already. "Hey it's gonna be okay, I'm here and Peyton's gonna be here, my mom, Karen, and Keith are going to be here tomorrow so you'll be surrounded by people who love you." Brooke nodded looking at Nathan with tears in her eyes. "Hey don't cry." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

"I'm just scared."

"It's okay to be scared babe. I'm scared too." Nathan gently kissed her and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered closing her eyes and letting the warm of his hand on her cheek spread through her body. When Peyton arrived Brooke was sleeping so instead of waking her up Peyton decided to go back to the apartment to clean up and get it ready for when Nathan's mom and Karen came out the next day.

The next day Deb and Karen stopped by the hospital to check on Brooke and to send Nathan home to shower and change his clothes since the doctor had told them that it was still probably going to be some time before they would be welcoming their baby into the world which helped Nathan feel better about going home but what actually drove him to go home was Brooke telling him that she would be okay and hold out if she needed to until he was back.

Nathan was back that the hospital so fast Brooke wasn't sure that he even showered but when he came closer to her and she got a whiff of his body wash she was really lucky that she was lying down because had she been standing up she would've melted into a puddle of nothing. She smiled at him when he sighed in relief glad that he hadn't missed anything. When the doctor walked in he laughed when he saw Brooke and Nathan in a heated game of monopoly, which from what he could see Nathan was letting Brooke win. "Hey Brooke, how are you?"

"A lot better since they shoved the needle up my spine."

"Well I'm glad that you are feeling better, how about we check and see how you're progressing shall we?" Brooke nodded helping Nathan move the table away from the bed while the nurses then helped Brooke to sit up better. "Well you're progressing quite nicely we're at about 7ish inches so hopefully soon enough we'll be welcoming your baby into the world." Brooke smiled and nodded as the doctor moved towards the door. "I'll be back in a little bit." Both Nathan and Brooke nodded going back to their game of monopoly Nathan losing horribly.

Nathan looked at the clock sighing, they had been at the hospital for almost 17 hours now and nothing was happening. Brooke was becoming restless and slightly depressed because she felt that she was ruining Thanksgiving no matter how many times everyone told her that she wasn't ruining it she was making it an exciting memorable holiday. Nathan looked around the room looking for something they could do since they've already played almost 10 games of monopoly, 3 games of gold fish, 2 games of UNO, and one game of eye spy they were running out of things to do. Thankfully the doctor walked in to check on Brooke and announced that she was finally ready to deliver her baby.

Nathan was right by Brooke's side letting her squeeze his hand as hard as she wanted to and didn't bat an eye as she screamed at him how much she hated him and how he was never touching her again. The nurses felt bad for Nathan but he just smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead telling her that no matter what he loved her. After being in the hospital for 18 and a half hours Brooke and Nathan welcomed Ava Madison Scott into the world weighing in at 7 lbs and 2 oz only about 11 inches long. Nathan looked at her as he held her in his arms and knew that she had him wrapped around his finger. Brooke looked at Nathan holding Ava and smiled, she couldn't wait until Nathan was thrown into the position of dealing with their daughter dating boys like him laughing to herself she was happy that it was over and she had the most beautiful baby girl.

**A/N: I updated! I know that it's been awhile but this chapter was really hard to write but I hope you liked it and I'm going to try and update sooner!**


	33. A Plan to Help Out

Brooke sat on the floor with her books spread around her trying to get some of her work done while Ava took a nap in her play pen. Sighing she stood up and walked into the kitchen grabbing another cup of coffee leaning against the counter her head cradled in her hands. A tear slipped down her face and quickly she wiped it away, it wasn't supposed to be this hard. They were supposed to make it work with having Ava and both of them going to school and Nathan playing basketball but so far it had only been Brooke having to give things up like sleep, she was either up with Ava or getting her work done and there was no way that they could afford to hire someone to look after her all the time since they had one babysitter for when both Brooke and Nathan were in class and she wasn't about to ask Karen and Deb to pay for a full time babysitter or daycare. Brooke sighed again and let more tears flow down her cheeks and wanted to scream. But one look at Ava asleep in her play pen and somehow it helped Brooke deal with everything. Yes she did not like the added stress of having a baby but she could never imagine her life without her precious daughter. The front door opened and Nathan walked in his head hung low and Brooke pushed off the counter and rushed into his arms catching him off-guard but without missing a beat he wrapped his arms around her burying his head in the crock of her neck.

"What's wrong?" She asked tightening her grip around his neck.

"I just had a hard day, I didn't do as well as I thought I did on my math test." He replied looking up and noticing the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just stressed; I have a huge paper due and haven't even started it. Every time I try and start it Ava wakes up and needs something." She vented pulling away from Nathan and going back into the kitchen and grabbing her cup of coffee resuming her spot on the floor. Nathan sighed and walked over towards her pulling her up from the floor and picking up her stuff. "Nathan what are you doing?"

"You're going to the library to get your paper done."

"I can just do it later."

"No you're going to the library, you're always making me go and now I'm making you go. We'll be fine. Let me spend some time with my daughter." Brooke looked like she was about to protest but Ava began to cry and before she could walk over to her play pen Nathan had her in his arms and rocking her back and forth. "What are you still doing here? Get to the library." Brooke nodded and finished packing up her stuff.

"Thank you." She whispered kissing his cheek before walking out of the door. Nathan smiled down at his daughter and sat on the couch sitting her in his lap.

"You're mom's crazy, ya know that?" The baby just giggled and smiled at Nathan playing with his index finger making Nathan smile. Jordan and Kayla walked in a couple of minutes later Kayla kidnapping Ava from him and playing with the baby on the floor.

"Where's Brooke?" Jordan asked sitting on the couch by Nathan.

"She had a paper to do so I sent her to the library for some peace and quiet."

"Ya know I was thinking about that today in my Child Psychology class. I feel bad for her; she always either at class or here staying up all hours of the night doing her work and taking care of Ava while you're off doing your work and everything you have to do for basketball and it's not fair."

"I know it's not fair Kay, I feel like shit everyday that I have to leave her and go do my thing but what am I supposed to do? She'd kill me if I gave up basketball."

"I'm offering to help, I mean since I'm not on the cheerleading squad anymore I have some time and Tim could help too since he's gotten his head out of his ass and Jess said she would help." Nathan looked at her wondering why all of a sudden was she being all nice and caring, since the last time he checked Kayla did not like Nathan all that much with the whole in her words 'knocking Brooke up and letting her break up with him' thing.

"Yeah dude we've got this all covered." Jordan replied lightly gripping Nathan's shoulders. "You guys never had to do this alone. We were always here to help." Jordan added looking right at Nathan, something that made Nathan realize that he and Brooke were dumb for ever thinking that they were in this alone.

"So I'm going to call Jess and Tim and we'll set up a schedule." Nathan nodded and took Ava from Kayla who stood up to call them. The minute Nathan had Ava in his hands Jordan was pulling her out of his grip and standing up walking around the room with her making faces at her. Nathan laughed at Jordan as he stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

15 minutes later Tim and Jess walked in instantly joining Jordan in making faces at Ava each laughing when the little baby giggled. Tim walked over to Nathan and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"So let's get down to business." Kayla suggested sitting at the kitchen table motioning for everyone to join her. She looked expectantly at Nathan who was searching around for Ava's bottle. "Nathan I need a piece of paper." Nathan nodded and rooted around before finding the notepad that Brooke keeps next to the fridge for notes and other things and tossed it to Kayla. "Alright so we need to come up with a schedule of times when one of us can take Ava off of Brooke and Nathan's hands for awhile so Brooke can still focus on school."

"I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings off and then Friday afternoons." Tim offered checking his phone datebook.

"I have Monday and Wednesday afternoons free after like 1:30." Jordan replied getting up and helping Nathan take care of Ava who was about to start screaming.

"I can help out on any day since I have most of the afternoons off." Kayla stated more to herself to than to anyone else.

"So what does that leave us?" Jessica asked.

"Monday and Wednesday mornings and Saturdays."

"Well I can take Saturdays and Wednesday mornings." Jessica offered looking over Kayla's shoulder to read over their schedule.

"So it's settled, Tim is gonna take Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Friday afternoons, Jordan is gonna take either Monday or Wednesday afternoons, Jess is going to take Wednesday mornings and some Saturdays, and I'll take any afternoon that one else can. Hey Nate, what's Brooke's class schedule?"

"Um…." He replied yet again rooting around the kitchen drawers looking for the copy of her schedule. "She has class on Mondays and Wednesday from 9 till 2:30, Tuesday and Thursday she's in class from 11 till 7, and she has Fridays off." Kayla nodded writing it down on the margins of the paper.

"When do you have class?" She asked looking up at him.

"I have class with her on Mondays and Wednesdays and Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm in class from like 8 till about noon then I'm usually lifting till about 2 and Fridays I have practice." Kayla nodded and finished writing down Nathan's schedule before getting up and walking over to Nathan's laptop that was sitting on the coffee table. Minutes later she had 6 copies of their schedules printed out with the subsequent person's times bolded.

"Alright so the bolded times are the times that you are able to babysit and help Brooke and Nathan out. Now is something happens and you can't take your time call one of the others and see what we can do. This is only to help Brooke and Nathan out so that they stay happy and in love and aren't at each other's throats and we have another episode like we did last year, did I miss anything?" Everybody shook their heads and Kayla smiled putting Brooke's copy of the schedule on the fridge.

"Thank you Kayla." Nathan whispered so only Kayla could hear.

"I'm only trying to help out; you and Brooke are my close friends it's the least I can do, plus this cute face is too hard to resist." Kayla replied lightly pinching Ava's cheek.

Everyone looked up as Brooke walked into the apartment looking around at her friends puzzled as to why they were here. "Hey babe, get your paper done?" Brooke nodded setting her messenger bag by Nathan's gym bag and backpack still looking around at all her friends wondering why they were there. She walked over to the kitchen and the paper on the fridge caught her eye.

"What's this?" She asked holding the paper in her hand.

"It's the schedule of your babysitters." Tim replied looking up from feeding Ava and smiling at Brooke.

"What?"

"We decided to band together and help you and Nathan out with Ava; those are all the times that we will take Ava from you so you can get some work done." Jordan replied getting up and putting his hand on Brooke's shoulder.

"You guys don't need to do this Nathan and I can handle it." Brooke defended not really wanting them to go out of their way for her or Nathan. Nathan walked over to Brooke extending his hand for her to take motioning with his head towards their bedroom. Brooke put her hand in his and let him lead her away from their friends into the bedroom. Nathan walked into the room and shut the door behind them lightly pushing Brooke so she was sitting on the bed.

"Brooke you and I both know that you can't handle taking care of Ava and going to school. Kayla and everybody want to help because they love and care about both Ava and us. Them helping isn't saying that you're a bad mom it's saying that everybody needs help once in awhile so just let them help."

"I don't want them going out of their way for us."

"They aren't going out of their way, they want to help and if they don't want to do it one afternoon we'll figure out a way to make it work. I don't wanna come home anymore and find you in tears because you're stressed, I hate seeing you like that. So just let them help, please?" Brooke looked up at Nathan comprehending everything he was telling her. She too didn't want the stress of everything getting to her and possibly driving her and Nathan apart so she nodded finally looking up at Nathan.

Kayla and Jordan sat with bated breath watching Nathan and Brooke's bedroom door waiting for it to open and as the minutes ticked away Kayla became worried that maybe Brooke thought they were trying to tell her something like she was a bad mother or couldn't handle it and Kayla hoped that Brooke didn't think that because Kayla thought she was a fantastic mother and just needed a little help. Most new moms need help and Brooke needed a little bit more with her going to school full time. Kayla watched the bedroom door open and stopped breathing waiting to see what kind of expression Brooke had on her face and when she saw a smile she relaxed and let out the breath she was holding.

"I want to thank you guys for helping us out and I really appreciate it." Kayla stood up and walked over to her best friend and hugged her.

"It's the least we can do for you guys. You're always there for us it's time we return the favor." Jordan replied smiling brightly at his best friends and Brooke walked over hugging Jordan silently thanking him for everything he did for her. Brooke felt truly lucky to have such wonderful friends that were willing to give up some of their free time to help her and Nathan.

**A/N: I feel horrible for not updating sooner and I hope you guys enjoy this update!**


	34. Deciding On The Future

Brooke Scott had walked onto the campus of University of Illinois Champagne Urbana with the firm mindset that she was going to study business then start up her own company.

But now she was on the path that so many students before her had taken; she was second guessing her major.

Did she really want to spend all her time behind a desk, wearing a stuffy suit, wooing clients, and working 90 hour weeks?

Did she really want to risk everything she had right now to start her own business?

Was she really willing to devote her whole life to her business?

The obvious answer to all those questions was no; she couldn't wear a stuffy suit every day, she couldn't work 90 hour weeks, she wasn't willing to risk alienating her husband or losing her daughter, and she wasn't ready to devote her whole life to something that her whole heart wasn't in.

Now all she had to do was find something that her whole heart was in, and nothing came to mind immediately. Throwing the course catalog on the floor Brooke rolled over on the couch the infomercials playing on the TV telling her that she had spent WAY too much time thinking about this, Nathan was due back in the morning from his latest game and Brooke was going to surprise him and help him with his schedule so that maybe they could have the same classes or at least at the same time but as she sat down in the late afternoon the day before she began to realize just how boring her classes were and she only had a week left to get the classes she wanted.

Sighing in frustration she was thankful that Ava had begun to cry so that she could have something to do and walked into Ava's room and picked the baby up, naturally rocking back and forth try to sooth the baby with calming words as she walked into the kitchen retrieving a bottle for her. Ava was instantly calmed after she began sucking on the bottle making Brooke smile as she rocked back and forth in the kitchen.

Having just put Ava back down Brooke set the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of her and reached for the course catalog she had discarded on the floor. Flipping through it again Brooke became determined to get this whole mess figured out by the time that Nathan arrived in Tree Hill.

Nathan walked into the beach house with and lightly tossed his bags by the door hoping that he didn't wake anyone up. Walking more into the beach house he heard Ava cry through the baby monitor and picked it up before it could wait Brooke who was sound asleep on the couch the course catalog spread out on her stomach. Nathan threw a blanket over her lightly kissing her temple before walking down the hall and finding Ava in her crib crying and wiggling, Nathan smiled down at her and picked her up gently rocking her back and forth before walking back towards the living room to get to the kitchen. Nathan sat at the kitchen table with Ava in front of him making faces at her making her wail with laughter as the coffee maker brewed behind him.

Brooke woke up and looked around for the baby monitor but stopped when she saw the lights on in the kitchen and the smell of fresh coffee hit her nose and smiled, hoping that Nathan was home they had a lot to talk about. Leaning against the doorframe of the entrance way to the kitchen Brooke smiled at the sight of Nathan playing with Ava, no matter how many times she saw Nathan with Ava it still was a sight that Brooke stopped to watch every time she could.

Nathan knew that Brooke was standing in the doorway watching him; he could always tell when she was watching him. Finally pulling his attention away from Ava Nathan looked up and smiled at Brooke getting up and walking over to her. "Hey." She whispered kissing him lightly before walking towards the coffee maker and pouring two cups. "I'm sorry I didn't come to your game."

"It's alright. I'm the one who told you to leave because you needed some time off and plus it's not like you haven't come to every other game." He replied kissing her yet again. "So what have you guys been up to?" Nathan asked following Brooke into the living room so he could put Ava in her playpen.

"Well Ava Wava over here just did what she always does, sleep, eat, cry, and repeat not much of an adventurer, are you?" Brooke cooed smiling at the baby in her playpen. "And I, as you can see had a little bit of fun with the U of I course catalog trying to pick my classes so that you could try and get the same schedule as me so maybe we could have some time together."

"And did you pick all your classes?" Nathan asked picking the catalog up from the coffee table, he had yet to tell Brooke what he had decided on for his major.

"Well you see there's a slight problem because I might have changed my major." She shyly replied gripping the coffee cup in her hands so tight her knuckles were white.

"What did you decide on?" Nathan asked not really seeing a problem with her changing her major; he really didn't think that business was the right major for Brooke anyway.

"Well I was looking through the catalog and remembering how much I liked my English class that I thought that I would major in English and maybe be an English teacher." Brooke replied loosing the grip a little bit.

"I think you would make an excellent English teacher." Nathan commented glad that Brooke had found something that made her happy. "So when do you have classes?" He asked looking through the catalog.

"What's your major?" She asked pulling the catalog from my hands.

"I didn't tell you?" He asked raking his brain for any memory of telling Brooke, he thought for sure that he told her way back in the beginning of freshman year. Brooke shook her head leaning against the back of the couch still feeling a little tired. "Oh I thought you would've just figured it out, I'm majoring in Sports Management, ya know to be a coach." Brooke smiled and nodded lightly hitting her forehead.

"How did I not know that?" Brooke asked more so to herself then to Nathan, she should've put the pieces together but some parts of Nathan were still a mystery to Brooke and thinking about it, that was more than okay with her always kept her on her toes.

"You look tired." Nathan stated turning and resting his head on the back of the couch so he could face Brooke.

"It's nothing new." She replied shrugging and glancing over at Ava who was now sound asleep in her playpen.

"You should get some sleep."

"No Nathan really I'm fine, you just got in and I want to spend time with you."

"Brooke." He warned knowing full well where this conversation was going. "Please go get some sleep." Brooke opened her mouth to argue but gave up knowing that she wasn't going to win and got up kissing Nathan on the cheek and checking on Ava before making her way towards their bedroom leaving Nathan alone in the living room with the sleeping baby. Nathan closed his eyes and sighed pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and dialing all while keeping his eyes closed. Thankfully his mom picked up on the second ring and was more than glad to come get Ava so Nathan could plan a little surprise for Brooke.

Brooke woke up hours later feeling well rested and relaxed. Stretching her arms above her head her hand grazed a rose next to her head, Brooke confused as to why a rose was in her bed sat up and looked around the room. There were 3 more roses placed by the door so Brooke got up and walked towards the door picking up the rose as she walked out of the room. "What is going on?" Brooke asked as she walked down the hall stopping to pick up two more roses before she reached the living room. Looking around for any sign of Nathan Brooke became even more suspicious when she saw Ava's toys missing from the living room. "He is definitely up to something." Brooke stated looking around the room once one and finding four more roses leading towards the kitchen.

She stopped in the doorway of the kitchen like she had done that morning when she saw Nathan playing with Ava and found Nathan standing in the kitchen with the remaining rose in his hand surrounded by candlelight. "Nathan." She gasped as she took in all the candles and dinner sitting on the table. "What is all of this?"

"It's the first night we've actually been in the same place at the same time so I thought I would make the most of it. Ava's with my mom by the way." Brooke nodded having a feeling that Deb or Karen would be more than willing to spend some time with Ava.

"You didn't have to do this." She remarked as he pulled her chair out for her like he had done on their first date over a year ago.

"I didn't have to, I wanted to." Brooke smiled as Nathan leaned across the table lightly kissing her. "Plus I felt the need to celebrate you finally picking a major, I thought you were going to stick with Gen Ed. Classes and never pick a career." Nathan joked dodging Brooke's hand that flew out to smack him.

Brooke too was glad that she had finally picked a major she loved but she was more grateful that she had Nathan for a husband.

**_A/N: I know, I know I'm so horrible that I haven't been updating more often but time just seems to slip by me and I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to par, I tried my best and I hope you guys like it. I'm trying really hard to get the chapters written and things so I'm hoping to update more often and I owe a HUGE, GINORMOUS, thank you to TVCrazed for giving me the idea for Nathan's major._**


	35. My Apologies

Dear Readers,

I am so sorry that I have not been updating lately. I have just let school and work completely take over my life and right now I think I have a case of writer's block because I sat down today to actually write and I have nothing good. But don't worry I am going to work on it and hopefully have some updates for you guys in the next coming weeks, so please just bear with me for a little bit longer.


	36. An Unexpected Offer

Brooke looked around at the boxes that littered the apartment floor. The memories that she and Nathan shared in this apartment were moments that she was going to cherish forever, but now it was time to end this chapter of her life and get ready for the next chapter of their life, no matter how uncertain that chapter may be now. Brushing a piece of her hair from her face she looked down at the table and the papers spread out in front of her. Looking at the bank statements and all the numbers were starting to give her a headache.

When she walked onto campus two years ago she was not worried about how her tuition was going to be paid because she had a full ride for cheerleading, but then she got hurt and didn't want to cheer anymore, so she lost her scholarship. She, at the time, still had a more than adequate college fund, but that was two years ago she mused, before she got married, had a child, and had a surplus of expenses to pay for. Picking up the most recent bank statement the remaining balance did not add up to be enough money to last the remaining two years she was here. Putting her head in her hands she sighed, a few tears slipping from her eyes. As Brooke quietly cried at the kitchen table Nathan walked into the apartment lightly tossing his gym bag by the door. He heard Brooke sniffle from the kitchen and walked towards her lightly placing his hands on her shoulders. Taking in the papers in front of her, he sighed knowing exactly why she was crying. "Hey." He whispered falling into the chair next to her still holding onto her shoulders.

"Hi." She sadly whispered turning towards him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't be worrying about this. We're going to figure something out over the summer and we're going to make this work, I promise." He tried reassuring her, even though deep down he was stressing out about how they were going to make it work.

"Your false confidence makes me feel a little bit better, but we both know that there is no way that I can afford to go to school next year. I'll just have to take some time off until I can afford to go to school again." She calmly replies feeling his shoulders tense beneath her head. Even without looking at his face she could picture the look on Nathan's face.

"Brooke." Nathan replied not liking her suggestion in the least bit.

"No Nathan one of us should get a degree and you have basketball too." Nathan was about to reply when Brooke's phone began ringing on the counter. She got up and answered the phone her face washing over in confusion. Nathan watched as she listened to whoever had called wondering who had called. Ten minutes later Brooke shut the phone and looked at over at Nathan her brows furrowed and chewing on her right index finger nail.

"Who was that on the phone?" Nathan asked breaking Brooke's concentration.

"That was my father; they're in town and want to talk to us." She replied lightly scratching the back of her head lightly confused as to why her parents were in town and what they could possibly have to talk about.

"When?" Nathan asked getting up and standing in front of her.

"Tonight, he said it was urgent." Brooke replied suddenly walking out of the room and towards Ava's room when she was napping. "Who are we going to get to watch Ava on such short notice?" She asked cracking open the door slightly to check on Ava, who was thankfully still sleeping soundly.

"Why don't we just take her with us? It's about time your parents met her Brooke." Nathan suggested leaning against the doorframe as Brooke starred down at Ava in her crib.

"I don't know Nate." She whispered turning and walking back towards him. "Knowing my parents they're probably going to want to take us to an expensive restaurant." Nathan nodded knowing where she was going with her train of thought.

"Give me your phone." He replied extending his hand towards her waiting for her to give her his phone. Brooke looked at him but nodded and handed over the phone motioning for her to go ahead and get ready. Nathan waited until Brooke closed the bedroom door before turning back towards the kitchen and calling Brooke's parents. "Hello Mr. Davis? This is Nathan Scott, Brooke's husband. I was wondering if maybe we could just have dinner here at our apartment since we can't find a babysitter on such short notice and it would just make it a little bit easier. That's great, but I need to warn you that the apartment is a little messy since we're packing and all. Perfect, we'll see you here at 7." Nathan replied hanging up the phone and smiling to himself. "Hey Brooke." He called walking into their bedroom.

"In here." She called from the bathroom most likely taking an hour long shower. Nathan chuckled to himself and walked into the bathroom leaning against the counter. "What's up?"

"Well I just talked to your dad and we decided that we would just have dinner here since we probably wouldn't be able to find a babysitter. They are also going to bring dinner here for us and before you say anything I did warn them about the boxes." He replied smiling in satisfaction at himself, he deserved a pat on the back. He smiled cockily to himself mentally patting himself on the back, before the thought dawned on him, _'I'm meeting her parents for the first time tonight!'_

Brooke poked her head out of the shower and smiled as the smile slipped from Nathan's face as the shock set in. "Don't worry about anything Nathan; it's just dinner with my parents. There's nothing to worry about."

"Brooke, we've been married for a year and have a child and I have yet to meet your parents. I think it is a huge thing to worry about. I wouldn't be surprised if your father punched me when he walks in the door." Nathan replied wondering how they had switched roles so quickly.

"Nathan, my father has no reason to punch you. It's not like I've had the best relationship with my parents, so please don't worry about it. I'm freaking out enough for the both of us." Nathan sighed shaking his head silently agreeing with her.

"Alright, how much longer are you going to be?"

"About ten minutes. If you wanted to you could give Ava a bath and put her in a nice outfit, preferably the dress that's hanging up on the left at the end of her closet." Nathan nodded and pushed off of the counter and walked out of the bathroom, his mind still running in overdrive.

An hour later Brooke stood in the living room as Nathan pushed the stacks of boxes as far against the wall as they could possibly go when the door bell rang. Looking at Nathan with panic in her eyes Brooke picked Ava up out of her playpen and walked with Nathan to the door. Nathan looked over at her silently asking her if she needed a minute but Brooke merely shook her head no and took a deep breath. Leaning over Nathan gently kissed Brooke's temple before stepping forward and opening the door.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Davis." Nathan greeted taking a step towards Brooke letting her parents in.

"Hey mom, dad. It's such a surprise to see you." Brooke said handing Ava over to Nathan so she could hug her parents. Victoria took a step forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Brooke.

"Oh Brooke, it's been so long!" Victoria exclaimed so sweetly Brooke felt her stomach churn. She looked at her mother as she pulled away wondering what had happened to the bitch that had previously lived in her mother's body. Shaking her head Brooke stepped towards her father and hugged him, still wondering what had happened to her parents.

"It's good to see you Brooke." Her father, Michael, whispered squeezing her gently before letting her go. "And who is this pretty little girl?" Michael cooed smiling at Ava, who giggled in Nathan's arms.

"This is Ava Madison Scott." Brooke introduced lightly kissing Ava's cheek. Victoria smiled at Ava and pulled her out of Nathan's arms. Nathan looked over at Brooke, the two seeming to share the same thoughts. _'What is going on?'_ Victoria looked up from Ava and glanced at Brooke motioning between Brooke and Nathan then glancing at Brooke expectantly. "Oh mom this is my husband, Nathan Scott. Nathan is my mom, Victoria Davis." Nathan smiled at her, turning his Scott charm on full throttle.

"When did you two tie the knot?" Victoria asked as Brooke took the bags of food from her father and walked into the kitchen.

"Last spring." Victoria looked at Brooke with a hurt expression on her face.

"Why didn't you tell us you were getting married?" Victoria asked taking a small break away from Ava. Brooke shook her head when her father went to interrupt. Victoria looked over at her husband and sighed. "You knew?" She asked to which he only nodded.

"I walked her down the aisle." Victoria sighed, remembering that Brooke was closer to her father.

"I'm sorry but the last time we talked didn't really end that pleasantly, plus it wasn't like you were actually involved in any part of my life after you moved to California. I didn't think you would want to come. You didn't even come and see me when I got hurt during the game a year and a half ago. So excuse me for not thinking that you would give a damn." Brooke replied her anger rising with each word she said. Nathan sighed and walked over to her grabbing her hand and gently squeezing it.

"I'm sorry Brooke. I know that I've been a pretty terrible mother, but I'm here to make up for that. Why can't we have a fresh start of sorts? I know that I screwed up royally but now that your father and I are back together, we're hoping that you'll maybe try and have a relationship with us."

"What?" Brooke whispered tears welling up in her eyes.

"We have a reason for being here Brooke." Her father started getting up from where he was sitting in the living room and walked into the kitchen standing in front of Brooke. "I was looking through the accounts the other day and I saw that your college fund was low. I now know where the money is going and I'm here to offer you the money so you can finish going to school."

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked finally looking her father in the eye.

"I know that you are struggling to come up with next year's tuition and with everything that you need to pay for now and now that I'm back on my feet, your mother and I are here to offer you the money you need to finish school. We do have one condition though."

"What's the condition?" Nathan asked answering for Brooke who was still trying to process what her father was telling her.

"We want to be included in Ava's life. We want to fix our relationship with Brooke and of course get to know our son-in-law." Nathan nodded reasoning that they were being more than reasonable. Nathan looked over at Brooke who was looking at him, pleading with him to give her an escape.

"If you guys could just give us a minute, we'll be right back." Michael nodded walking back into the living room. Nathan pulled Brooke into their bedroom and sat her down on the bed. "Brooke, babe, you okay?" Nathan asked kneeling down in front of her. She shook her head her mind still reeling.

"What just happened?" She whispered thinking that this was just some strange dream that she was somewhat involved in.

"Your parents just offered to pay for school."

"How do they do it?" She asked looking over Nathan's shoulder and towards the bedroom door, almost as though she could see right through it.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked lightly grabbing her chin forcing her to look at him.

"They don't talk to me for two years then they swoop in and try and be Parents of the year. How on earth do they do it? I mean they weren't even together two years ago, and from the looks of it they're back together."

"Brooke, I know that your parents haven't always been the best parents, hell I think I would pick Dan over them any day, but they are here and they're trying to fix that. I don't think that you should let this opportunity slip through your fingers. Part of me is kind of jealous right now, I mean you get to try and fix the relationship you have with your parents. I would kill to at least have Dan around so that I could yell at him or something. Plus I don't think that we should deny Ava the right to know her grandparents, no matter how shitty of parents they may be, Ava deserves to have a relationship with them." Brooke shook her head completely agreeing with Nathan, she was denied a relationship with her grandparents and she was not about to let that happen to Ava.

"I agree. I just don't think it's going to be that easy." Nathan nodded standing up and resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I never said it was going to be easy, but you can at least try right?" Brooke nodded and stood up wrapping her arms around Nathan's waist. Nathan smiled and pulled her close to his body lightly kissing her on the forehead. "Now let's go tell your parents the good news." Brooke pulled away and started walking towards the door. Stopping right in front of the door she took a deep breath before opening the door and walking out into the living room. She stopped a few feet short of her parents when she saw Ava giggling at her father. The sight in front of her brought a smile to her face and a few tears to her eyes. Nathan moved behind her gently wrapping his arms around her waist and leaned forward. "See how happy she is? We can't take that away from her."

"When did you get so wise?" Brooke asked leaning back against Nathan. Nathan laughed and stepped further into the living room grabbing the attention of Brooke's parents. Michael looked at Nathan who slightly shook his head wanting Brooke to be the one to tell them.

"Have you made a decision?" Victoria asked standing up and holding Ava on her hip. Brooke smiled and shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer and I do want to have a shot at a relationship with you guys. I don't know how to thank you for taking this huge burden off of my shoulders. You two also deserve to have a relationship with your granddaughter and I'm more than willing to make that happen, but this is a two way street. I can't do all the work for this to work; you need to meet me halfway." Both shook their heads and stepped towards Brooke, Victoria handed Ava over to Nathan before wrapping her arms around Brooke. Michael pulled away a few moments later and smiled at Victoria and Brooke still hugging, both having tears in their eyes.

"Oh Brooke I have one more thing to tell you, more so show you." Brooke looked at her father tilting her head to the side confused. "Come on." He eagerly replied unable to keep the excitement out of his voice as he pulled the young couple out of the door and towards their rental car. Nathan looked over at Brooke both wondering what was going on, but Victoria reassured them that they would love it as she pulled Ava out of Nathan's arms and secured her in the car seat. Getting in the car Nathan looked at Brooke and shrugged.

10 minutes later Brooke and Nathan shared another look of utter confusion as they pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex. "Alright seriously what's going on?" Brooke asked stepping out of the car and starring at the building.

"I talked to Nathan's mother the other day and we decided that you two should have a more permanent home for the last two years you are at school so we rented this for you. You don't have to worry about the rent or anything, Deb and I are going to take care of everything. We are also going to help you guys find a nanny or daycare service so that you guys can focus on school. We, Deb included, want you guys to focus on finishing school and not worry about the bills."

"Seriously?" Nathan asked moments later after the initial shock had worn off.

"Yes, your mother is also having your car brought up for you so that you don't have to worry about transportation to school."

"I can't believe this." Brooke whispered tears in her eyes as she turned towards Nathan, all of their worries were being taken care of by their parents. Brooke smiled at Nathan and wrapped her arms around him giving in to the tears. Nathan hugged her and kissed her forehead, glad that they wouldn't have to worry about money next year.

"I don't know how we can thank you guys for this. You seem to have taken care of every problem we were facing in the span of like an hour. Thank you." Michael smiled and waved his hand dismissively in front of his face.

"We have a lot of making up to do and it's the least we could do." Nathan smiled and gave Michael a hug then Victoria now too shocked for words. Brooke stood rooted in her spot, the wheels in her head were running to comprehend what was happening, there were too many surprises for one night.

"Brooke?" Nathan asked lightly touching her arm, bringing Brooke out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?" He asked worried by the look on her face.

"I'm more than okay; it's just a lot to take in for one night, that's all." Brooke replied turning towards Nathan and smiling. Looking over at the building then back to her parents Brooke's eyes began to tear up. "I still can't believe that you guys are doing this for us." She whispered in amazement.

"Well we wanted to make your college experience easier and Deb told us how much you guys were struggling so this is our way of letting you know that we're here for you. We're also always a phone call away, if you never need anything all you have to do is pick up the phone and we'll be here, I promise." Victoria added taking a step forward and lightly resting her hand on Brooke's shoulder. Brooke looked up at her mother, her mind flashing with the rare times she had seen her mother in high school and how cold and indifferent she had been. She wondered if Victoria knew about the evil step-mother from hell that Brooke had been forced to live with because her mother didn't want to be stuck in Tree Hill. Shaking her head Brooke stepped towards her mother and wrapped her arms around her.

"It's getting late and Ava's getting fussy so we should head to the apartment." Nathan suggests still trying to comprehend what had exactly just happened and mentally reminds himself to call his mom in the morning. Brooke pulls away from her mom and nods at Nathan. As they head back towards the car Nathan grabs Brooke's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

After getting back to the apartment Brooke and Nathan suggest that Brooke's parents just spend the night at the apartment, Brooke found herself sitting in the living room a cup of hot chocolate sitting in her lap. She looked up when Victoria walked into the living a worried look on her face. "Mom, what are you doing up?" Brooke asked shifting a little bit so that her mom could sit on the sofa.

"I could ask you the same thing." Victoria replied smiling at Brooke as she sat down.

"I'm used to being up right now working on school work and everything." Victoria nodded the worried look back on her face. "What's wrong?" Brooke asked sitting up a little bit worried that something was wrong.

"I just feel horrible." She began reaching forward and grabbing one of Brooke's hands. "Your father told me what the evil bitch did to you. I wish I had known that she was hurting you I would have stepped in and gotten you out of that situation, but your father told me that he was taking care of everything."

"Mom." Brooke interrupted not wanting to go down this road.

"No Brooke I need to say this. I know that when you were in high school it might have come off as I didn't care about you but I did. I thought by not being in your life you could form a relationship with Eliza and you would have the mother figure you always wanted."

"I didn't want a relationship with her; I wanted you as my mother. She was just the bitch that tried to tell me what to do and unsuccessfully I might add. Yes she did hurt me on several occasions and yes I'm still trying to deal with it, but I do owe her some thanks." Victoria tilted her head to the side confused, as if she didn't understand the words coming out of Brooke's mouth. "If she had not been all crazy abusive Barbie, I wouldn't have ended up at the beach that night and I wouldn't have started actually talking to Nathan and we wouldn't have been so close, then I wouldn't have reconnected with him here and I wouldn't have my beautiful daughter. So in some way I owe her a thank you, a small thank you, but a thank you none the less." Victoria nodded understanding where Brooke was coming from.

"You have done quite well for yourself. You have a husband that loves and adores you, a beautiful daughter, and you have a 4.0 GPA. I don't know how much better you could have done for yourself. I'm really proud of you Brooke." Brooke smiles softly at her mother, finally beginning to feel wanted as her child for the first time in her 22 years on earth. She wonders, in the deep corners of her mind, if this is the fresh beginning she was seeking all this time. Victoria stands up moments later, fighting back a yawn as she leans down and slowly kisses Brooke's head. "Get some sleep." She whispers before leaving Brooke to her own thoughts in the living room. Minutes after Victoria had gone back to bed Brooke got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen placing her mug in the sink and picking up her cell phone.

"I know it's late, but you're never going to guess what happened tonight Peyton…" Brooke started regaling Peyton with every detail of what had happened that night.

* * *

**A/N: So I know it has been a crazy long time since I've updated and I'm really truly very sorry. I'm trying really hard to work on my time management. I also know that this chapter may seem a little out there with Brooke and Victoria's relationship. I hope you guys like this chapter, I spent quite a lot of time writing it.**


	37. A Bittersweet Fresh Beginning

**A/N: I'm back! Finally I'm updating, it's a relief to me to finally be getting back to my stories. I know it's been a LONG time but I'm thankful to those that have stuck around and are reading this right now. I hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to OTH, I just own the OCs and the plot line.**

* * *

Brooke sighed and fell into her office chair putting her head on the desk trying to catch a few moments of rest while she waited for her laptop to start up. Today had been a rather exhausting day, Ava was being fussy all day while Brooke was trying to unpack the mountains of boxes that still cluttered the apartment and she hadn't even made a dent in the mountain of clothes that needed to be washed. After a few moments Brooke picked up her head and signed onto her email account happy to see an email from her mother.

It had almost three weeks since Brooke's parents had come into town and surprised Nathan and herself with their newfound parental generosity. In that time Brooke had begun emailing her mom and dad almost regularly and calling twice a week careful to leave out the details about her currently MIA husband Nathan, who was back in Tree Hill dealing with Deb's boyfriend drama. Just thinking about that whole mess made Brooke somewhat angry. From the moment that Deb had met Henry everyone knew that he was bad news, but in true Deb Scott fashion she didn't listen to anybody and now had to have Nathan come down and protect her because Henry was being creepy and Deb was scared. Sighing again Brooke rifled off an email to her mom before her afternoon caffeine craving hit full force.

As she headed into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee a knocking on the door made Brooke rush to the door hoping that the knock didn't wake, the finally peacefully sleeping, Ava. Opening the door Brooke smiled at her best friend/former roommate Kayla. "Hey Kay." Brooke greeted hugging her before going back into the kitchen to make coffee. "Want some coffee?" Kayla nodded as she sat down at the breakfast bar still not saying anything. "What's wrong?" Brooke asked moments later after she realized that Kayla wasn't talking like her usual self.

"Just some family stuff that's all." Kayla replied not really wanting to spill her guts, but wanting at least someone besides Jordan to talk to.

"Kayla, what's going on?" Brooke asked coming around the counter and grabbing her hand, worried about her best friend.

"My dad has cancer." She whispered finally letting the tears finally slip from her eyes. Brooke gasped and pulled Kayla into her arms holding her tightly.

"Oh Kayla, I'm so sorry!" Brooke quietly exclaimed pulling away from Kayla slightly and looking into her hazel eyes.

"I'm going home to be with them." Brooke nodded rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "I'm probably not coming back in the fall."

"What?" Brooke whispered tilting her head to the side, confused.

"I talked to my mom this morning, she told me that his surgeries are expensive and she was having a hard time coming up with the money to pay for it, so I told her that I would give up my tuition money. So I'm not coming back in the fall." She looked up at Brooke, who now had tears in her eyes.

"I hope your dad's okay." Brooke finally whispered pulling Kayla towards her, letting her cry on her shoulder.

"I feel bad for ditching you." Kayla replied some time later after the tears had subsided for now and she and Brooke were drinking coffee.

"It's okay, it's your family. I just want you to know that Nathan and I are always here for you. If you ever need anything just call us and we'll be there in a heartbeat." Kayla nodded her eyes pooling with tears again at the sweetness of Brooke. "Have you talked to Jordan, yet?" Kayla nodded a whole new batch of tears falling from her eyes.

"We decided to break up."

"What?!" Brooke exclaimed completely forgetting about the sleeping baby a few rooms over.

"I want to be there for my dad and my mom. I won't be a very good girlfriend and I'll be almost 2,000 miles away. It's not fair to him to have an absentee girlfriend."

"But he loves you." Brooke weakly argued with her.

"And I love him too, but this is the best for us. Who knows maybe sometime down the road we'll make it work but right now it's just not in the cards." Kayla calmly replied having cried all the tears she could over the loss of her relationship. "But we're still going to try and be friends; lord knows I need all the support I can get right now." Brooke nodded and sighed, her two best friends were no longer together. Just when Brooke had gotten her life together, her best friend's was falling apart. Kayla finished off her cup and stood up. "Well I have to finish packing before my flight on Thursday."

"I'll stop by before you go." Brooke replied following her to the door and hugging her tightly before she left. Brooke watched her go tears falling from her eyes before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.

Nathan sat in the living room of his mom's house completely bored out of his mind. He had been spending almost a week here protecting his mom. Had his mom just listened to everyone she wouldn't be in this situation. Sighing for the trillionth time that morning he began flipping through the channels trying to distract himself, just as his mind was going numb from flipping through the channels his cell rang. "Thank you." Nathan greeted happy to have a distraction.

"Nathan." Brooke simply stated trying to keep it together.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked sitting up worried at Brooke's tone of voice.

"Kayla's leaving." She replied her voice cracking at the end of her short statement.

"What?"

"Her dad has cancer and she's giving up her tuition to help pay for his treatments."

"Oh that's horrible." Nathan replied running his free hand through his hair. "How's Jordan taking it?" Nathan asked knowing full well that Jordan thought Kayla was the one.

"I don't know I haven't talked to him. I can only imagine how hard he's taking it; he is madly in love with her. Oh god I should call him, he's probably a mess." Brooke rambled looking around the apartment frantically for the keys to the car.

"Whoa, Brooke calm down and take a deep breath. I'll come home and I'll talk to him."

"What? No Nathan, you have to help your mom." Brooke replied now ripping up the couch still looking for the keys to the car.

"To quote you guys, she's a grown woman and she can handle her own problems. My best friend and wife need me so I'm there. Plus Keith will be on standby so I don't have to worry about it. I'm on the next flight out of here. I'll call you when I land okay?"

"Nathan."

"Don't try and talk me out of this. You'd do the same if it was Peyton. Plus its Jordan we're talking about he's practically family. I'm sorry but I'm not changing my mind on this." Nathan firmly replied already packing his bag and getting online to search for a plane ticket. His mom would just have to understand. Brooke sighed and fell into the couch cushion that she just put back after giving up her search for the car keys.

"You're right, he'll probably only talk to you about it. By the way, where are the car keys?"

"By the door, remember you yelled at me to put them there before I left so that you would know where they were." Brooke shook her head completely not believing a word that he was saying, but sure enough hanging up next to the door were the keys to car and Brooke couldn't help but laugh.

5 hours later Nathan stepped off the plane and quickly got into a cab heading towards Jordan's apartment, his sole mission to make sure that Jordan was okay. When Nathan arrived at Jordan's apartment, he got a weird feeling in the bottom of his stomach. His mind flashed back when he and Brooke had gotten into the huge blow out fight after Keith's accident, if Jordan was anything like Nathan then Nathan was going to be walking into a war zone.

Reaching Jordan's door Nathan could hear the objects being thrown across the room. Wincing Nathan gently knocked preparing himself for the worst. Jordan ripped the door open the anger and hurt just radiating off of him. "Hey Jordan." Nathan greeted walking into the apartment. "I'm sorry." Nathan instantly replied watching Jordan fall into the couch and sigh. "I know it sucks."

"No what sucks is that I can't even be mad at her. She has to be there for her family. She's been my girlfriend since freshman year, dude I feel like a fish out of water right now. What the hell am I going to do?" Jordan ranted looking up at Nathan, confusion just swirling around in his hazel eyes.

"Dude, you're going to bounce back and become 100% better."

"Did you get that from Brooke on the way over here?" Jordan joked dodging the pillow that was thrown at him.

"No I didn't get that from Brooke. You know that Brooke and I are always here for you no matter what, you know that right?" Jordan nodded and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence. "Alright let's go." Nathan stood hitting Jordan's foot as he made his way towards the door.

"Where?" Jordan asked still sitting on the couch, not really in the mood to go on some field trip.

"I know someone that can put a smile on your face without even trying, let's go." Nathan waited a few moments for him to get up. "Dude do not make me call Brooke." Jordan sighed and got up following Nathan out of his apartment.

Brooke sat watching Ava crawl around on the floor when she heard the front door open. Glancing back she smiled at Nathan and Jordan as they walked through the door. Nathan walked over towards her leaning down and kissing her forehead before going over and picking Ava up. Brooke stood and walked over to Jordan wrapping her arms around him. "How are you holding up?" She asked pulling away slightly to look at him. He shrugged not sure how he was holding up at the moment. She nodded and hugged him again.

Nathan smiled at Ava and walked over towards Jordan. "Ava, look who it is, it's Jordan." Ava light up upon seeing her godfather and held her arms out to him, signaling that she wanted him to hold her. Jordan smiled at her pulling her from Nathan's arms and walked over to the living room. Brooke watched him smile and play with Ava on the floor before turning towards Nathan.

"I think he should move in here with us." She glanced at Nathan letting him know that she was seriously concerned about him. "Put yourself in your shoes, you and I are dating for almost three years and suddenly I'm gone back home to take care of my family and you're left with the apartment we've lived in for almost two years, that's too much." Nathan nodded agreeing with whole heartedly.

"Hey Jordan." Nathan said sitting down on the couch with Brooke. "Brooke and I want to extend the offer for you to move in with us, that way you don't have to worry about rent and just have to chip in for food and utilities." Jordan looked back and forth between them shocked by their offer.

"Just think about it, it would be one less thing you have to worry about what with basketball and classes and it would be fun. We have the extra room that's not being used and it would be fun living together."

"I don't know what to say, I mean it's so unexpected." He replied still in shock about how nice his best friends were being.

"Well think of it as an unexpected fresh beginning, it will help getting over this whole mess a lot easier since you're not surrounded by memories of the place you guys shared."

Jordan thought about for a few moments and looked down at Ava, who was smiling up at him and giggling at him. "Who could turn down this face?" Jordan replied leaning down and kissing Ava's forehead, Brooke smiled and sighed in relief. "Thank you guys so much, I really appreciate it."

"What better way to start junior year then with a fresh beginning?" Brooke replied getting up and going into the kitchen to make dinner. She was happy to be giving her best friend the fresh start that he needed. As Brooke worked around the kitchen making dinner for the new found family, Brooke felt as if she had only begun her wild ride on the roller coaster of life.

* * *

**A/N: Okay so I like every part of this chapter except the ending, I've reworked so many times but this seems to be the only semi-descent ending. I hope you guys like this chapter and I'm hoping to finish this story before I start school for the spring.**


End file.
